While recent years have seen the retirements of many teachers and staffers who have spent their careers in Newburyport, this spring one district school in particular will bear the brunt of losses. Four longtime employees of Bresnahan Elementary School have decided this year to retire, including Assistant Principal Bill McGowan, first-grade teacher Janice Green, reading recovery specialist Audrey Ladd and physical education teacher Sue Coffee.
Together, the employees represent 100 years of teaching students in the Newburyport Public School System, with McGowan having taught for 23 years as a music teacher and five years as assistant principal, Coffee having served for 33 years, Green for 34 years and Ladd for 19 years teaching Title I, interim Superintendent Deirdre Farrell said.
"We congratulate all of them for their efforts on behalf of Newburyport Public Schools," Farrell said.
A celebration for each of the four retirees was held June 10, during which they were recognized with certificates for their years of teaching.
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The school district has endured two years' worth of bad news when it comes to funding shortfalls from the state, but this spring brought good news that the district would receive its full kindergarten grant award rather than the 25 percent cut school officials were expecting.
"We are being awarded the same amount of money in (fiscal year 2011) that we were awarded in (fiscal year 2010)," Farrell said. "This is good news. We were expecting a 25 percent cut."
The grant only recognizes six of the Brown School's seven sections of kindergarten, but overall, considering there were cuts expected, the funding represents good news to the district, Farrell said.
State grant money for kindergarten were first awarded to the school system in 2008, allowing the district to open full-day kindergarten to anyone who wanted it rather than through the previous lottery system that limited entry to several sections. "There may be a potential for additional monies during the school year," she said.
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School Committee Vice Chairman Bruce Menin said students who attended the eighth-grade field trip to New York City not only got a chance to tour the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, but they had an opportunity to rub elbows with a Hollywood celebrity.
On an otherwise routine ferry ride to visit Lady Liberty, they were thrilled to find Cambridge native and mega movie star Matt Damon on the same ferry.
"I understand he was quite generous," said Menin, who received reports from some of those on board that Damon was happy to pose for pictures and chat with students throughout the trip. "He has relatives who work here in the district."
Damon's cousin Nonie Olson teaches third grade at Bresnahan, but it was an unintended coincidence that students from the district ran into Damon on their annual class trip to the Big Apple. Damon and a film crew were shooting a movie on the front side of the Statue of Liberty, Menin said.
"You never know who you're going to meet on the ferry on the way to the Statue of Liberty," he said.
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The Newburyport Retired Teachers Association presented a $200 check recently to Newburyport Public Schools to benefit the public school libraries with the purchase of at least one new book for each school. Though the teachers are no longer actively involved in teaching local kids, they all still feel it's essential to support public education, retired history teacher and author Richard Doyle said. They raised the money at a NRTA luncheon held in May. In the past, the NRTA — which is made up of past Newburyport teachers who have taught at the elementary, middle and high school levels — have raised money to help retirees or their families with medical expenses.
Four checks were presented to the district, made out in the name of the four public school librarians.
"It is $50 apiece to benefit the school libraries that never have enough money," Doyle said. "We took up a collection at the luncheon specifically for this."
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Lynne Hendricks covers Newburyport schools for The Daily News. She can be reached at lhendricks@newburyportnews.com or at 978-462-6666, ext. 3254.
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