Currents in Education
A fitting tribute
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Principal Jane Stephenson is seen here at an end-of-school ceremony last week, reading a letter in the Coastal Ridge Elementary School yearbook written in her honor by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione. The next day, the School Committee voted to rename the school’s library in Stephenson’s honor.
Photo by Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - Principal Jane Stephenson's name has been synonymous with Coastal Ridge Elementary School for the 16 years the school has been in existence.
That is why the York School Committee agreed that something special should be done to honor Stephenson's retirement this month after 20 years with the York School Department and 16 as Coastal Ridge's first principal.
The committee voted unanimously last week to rename the school's library in honor of Stephenson's commitment to education and literacy.
As School Committee member John D'Aquila said when the committee met last week, "How do you honor somebody like Jane Stephenson who has contributed 20 years to the York school system?"
The committee decided the answer was to create a lasting tribute to Stephenson's love for Coastal Ridge.
Describing Stephenson as "universally revered and loved and recognized for her outstanding contribution," D'Aquila said the School Committee "thought an appropriate way of honoring her as someone who is such an advocate for literacy in the schools ... would be to name the library at Coastal Ridge after Jane."
School Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Zotos explained that this practice has a precedent, as a prior board named the library at York Middle School in honor of "a former York School Committee chairperson who we lost way too young, Linda Masella."
Like Stephenson, Masella was beloved in the community for her commitment to education.
"I think it's a wonderful way to honor Jane not only for years of service ... but for being an outstanding administrator," Zotos said, adding, "Coastal Ridge truly has become such an outstanding school ... I think it's a wonderful way to acknowledge an incredible career."
Zotos and her fellow School Committee members agreed that the reason Coastal Ridge is recognized locally, and by the state, as an exemplary school has been directly linked to Stephenson's commitment to see each decision through the eyes of the students.
School Committee member Tim Fitzgerald made the formal motion to name "The Jane A. Stephenson Library in recognition of Mrs. Stephenson's retirement after 20 years of dedicated service as assistant principal and principal in the York Schools."
Fellow board member Mary Jane Merrill suggested a formal ceremony in Stephenson's honor, which will be planned for the fall.
