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By Cameron Small
Hometown Weekly Intern
It is that time of year when students itch to get out of the classroom and enjoy their hard-earned summer vacations. Senioritis kicks in, and teachers try to keep their students motivated with award nights, to reward the work done over the course of the year.
Most students probably do not know, however, that faculty gets awards too.
Last Thursday, May 26, the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) held their annual meeting at the Zullo Gallery. During the meeting, faculty from all five public schools in Medfield won awards, farewells were said to the board members whose terms had ended, and the new board members were voted in.
The first award given was the Robert C. Maguire Global Perspectives in Education Award to Medfield High School Principal Robert Parga. As prefaced by the now former co-president of the MCPE Minta Hissong: “It’s given to a staff member whose effort embodies our former superintendent’s vision for developing students’ global understanding and inspires them to look beyond the town of Medfield and learn more about our global community through innovative programs.”
Claire Shield, the MCPE Grant Coordinator, moved on to talk about the Elizabeth Busconi Award. “The Elizabeth Busconi Memorial Education Fund was established in memory of Elizabeth Busconi, a beloved second grade teacher at Wheelock School who passed away in 2007. This years award winners are Kerry Cowell and Stephen Grenham for their grant proposal to create a graphic novel section in the Dale Street School Library, and to dedicate it to Mrs. Busconi.”
The last awards given were the Thomas Reis Award. It went to several faculty members: Randie Groden and Melissa Bilsborough of Memorial School; Marissa Foley and Stephen Grenham from Dale Street School; and Orla Berry and Phil Brown from Medfield High School. Two high school juniors were also given the award, but were unable to make the event.
As Shield explained, “The Reis Award is in honor former Superintendent Thomas Reis who supported volunteerism…the criteria for the award is for a grant which promotes cooperation among schools, develops new programs of study, and brings creativity and innovation to the classroom.”
For the first time this past year, three grants were given the award as voted by the sixteen member board of the MCPE. All three grants dealt with robotics.
After winning the Robert C. Maguire Award, Parga said, “This award certainly doesn’t reflect the work of just one person. One of the things we talk so much about the high school is trying to provide unique and exciting opportunities for students, and more opportunities for students.”
