A very kind soul
Published on May 7th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - An office full of windows with a view that settles the eye on the arrival of 350 students each day is space that any elementary school principal would cherish.
Although still under construction, the principal's office in the new Robin Hood School is one that Maureen Soley is proud to show off during a tour of the building's renovation, slated for completion this summer.
A member of Stoneham's School Building Committee (SBC) for the past seven years, Soley can tell you how and why this office space was designed, but when the doors to the building open in September, she won't be able to tell you how it feels to actually inhabit it.
After 10 years as Principal of Robin Hood School and a total of 32 years of service to the Stoneham Public Schools, Solely will retire in June.
She has worked hard on running the Robin Hood School and on the rebuilding project for all the elementary schools in town. So why is she leaving now, just at the culmination of her hard work and the opening of the new Robin Hood School?
Her answer is one that gives some insight into who Soley is and of her giving nature.
"I feel conflicted, anyone would...(but) I felt it was probably better to let someone else start. Let it be their building from the beginning."
"She's got more kindness in her heart...So many people lack that today," says former School Committee member and Soley's friend Jeanne Craigie who praises Soley for her dedication to Stoneham students and for always finding the good in kids.
"It's always been kids first, then the system," Craigie said.
While she prepares to turn the reins over to a new principal, Soley says she is not leaving for good. Initially, she plans to help with the move back into the new building from Robin Hood's temporary home at the Old Central School. In addition, her service to the SBC will continue as that committee anticipates another year of work making sure all schools are fully operational.
"That assuages any guilt I feel about walking away."
In making her decision, she took to heart wise words from a Harvard professor who said that the only way to stop being a building principal is to stop being a building principal. With 350 students and another 50 staff members to be responsible for, Soley admits that while the demands of the job haven't completely possessed her, "a lot of the time, it's in the back of your mind."
"I'd like to go out while I'm still giving it my all."
That is what Soley has given consistently throughout her career.
"I have had the pleasure of working with Maureen Soley for the past five years and this includes attendance at over 100 Building Committee meetings," said Stoneham Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Connelly. "I am constantly impressed with her total commitment to the Stoneham schools. Her willingness to make herself available to ensure students and teachers are well serviced is very commendable."
"Stoneham Public Schools is losing one of its strongest advocates for quality schools," he added. "Maureen Soley's legacy will be not only her 30 plus years of dedicated service... but the existence of four state-of-the-art elementary schools."
Soley grew up in Stoneham. At Umass Amherst, her intended major was Government, and her plan was to join the Foreign Service and see the world. Education was always an option but, at the time, it was more a dream that Margaret and Francis Soley had for their daughter. The turning point was a class she took halfway through her junior year that gave her a bird's eye view of children. She loved watching them and as she did, she began to rethink her career direction. The rest, they say, is history, as well as an eventual gift to the Stoneham Public Schools.
Soley continued her studies and received a Master's Degree at Boston State College (now part of Umass), and has done Doctoral work at Umass Lowell. As a teacher, she learned she could do the work she came to love and make the most of her summers with the travel she initially looked to do through the Foreign Service.
A well rounded career in Stoneham offered Soley opportunities to grow as an educator. She taught grades K1 through 4 at the Central and South Schools, spent a year at the Middle School, and another five in the Superintendent's office, under former Superintendent Dan Hogan, where she worked on a number of issues, including federal funding, public relations, and overseeing curriculum writing.
"Maureen is a very dedicated member of the staff. She worked in my office... She did a great job," said Hogan, praising her for devotion to education and students. "It's kind of a shame to see her go."
When Soley secured the principalship at the Robin Hood School, she was initially impressed at how friendly the students were and she set out for the classrooms to get to know them.
"I've always tried to maintain an open door policy," she said of the style that has helped her be a "facilitator of communication," someone who helps with interchange among students, staff members and between parents and teachers.
Soley has maintained a hands on approach through the years at Robin Hood through twice daily meetings with various teams of teachers, keeping abreast of scheduling, curriculum, special events and concerns.
"It's made a real difference to the school. They know I'm there and I'm interested."
Soley also enjoys a collaborative relationship with the Robin Hood PTO, according to member Maribeth Kelley, who credits Soley for her willingness to broaden students' learning experiences through various enrichment programs, field trips and social events.
"A school is really a community and it should reflect that," Soley said. She fully believes that Robin Hood School will maintain that sense of community under the leadership of Alice Reilly who has worked along side Soley this past year in fulfilling her practicum work and will take the reins as the next Robin Hood School Principal.
"She has my full endorsement," Soley said. "I think she knows I felt my job is to help teachers do their job...I think she will continue that."
To Soley, retirement means lessening some of the burden, particularly during the notoriously busy months of September and June, but not the activity. She hopes to eventually mentor student teachers, but for now plans to stay connected with the Stoneham school system and continue to live in town.
"I'll miss the interaction with staff and children every day... but I told them 'I'm not going away.' If anyone needs me, I'm in the phone book."
Soley plans to spend more time at her home on Lake Winnipesaukee, kayaking, sailing, skiing, and enjoying life. She will also continue to help take care of her elderly mother. Though her father died last November, he was well aware of his daughter's accomplishments in the field he knew would suit her.
"They've always been so proud of her," said Soley's sister, Janet Nowlan, a teacher at St. Patrick School, also known to another generation of Stoneham students as "sub-sister" for the years she would substitute teach for her sister. Two of Nowlan's children are also pursuing teaching careers and of them, Soley is quite proud.
"I don't know if they'll stay as long as we have," Soley says of her family of educators which also includes another brother and sister-in-law.
But the school year is far from over and Soley continues to oversee the education of Robin Hood School students as well as the progression of the new building. She is particularly excited about the imminent installation of a ceramic tile mural, she has named Learning As We Grow, that has been created by students and will adorn the front lobby of the new building. The space, though empty now, will soon be a delightful reminder of what the Robin School is all about.
Soley may do some traveling but is sure to find herself back in Stoneham for the October 4 dedication ceremony of the new Robin Hood School.
"It's been a great job. I've really enjoyed it. It's never been boring for a minute."
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