After four years as superintendent of the Bonny Eagle schools, Dr. Grace Ward submitted her letter of resignation to the SAD 6 board of directors Monday night.
Ward will be remembered, say colleagues, for her strong work ethic and dedication to her job. That characteristic drove her to succeed at anything she did, which was a lot at the largest school district in Maine.
“It doesn’t come as a surprise,” said school board member Bruce Avery, “She definitely gave her heart and soul to the district and while (the school board) appreciated that, it was also our biggest fear. We wanted her to take time for herself, because she wasn’t just burning the candle at both ends, she was burning it from the middle as well.”
Avery, who didn’t always agree with Ward’s policies, came to respect her for her tenacity and leadership abilities.
“It’s an incredibly stressful job,” he said. “Everyday she’s the first one there in the morning and the last to go home, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dealing with daily decisions, dealing with the children, dealing with the school board, dealing with contract negotiations; it’s just a brutal, brutal job which she always did with the best interests of the children in mind.”
Ward’s resignation is effective June 30. She’s planning to take a year off to relax and “pursue other interests.”
“I may never go back, who knows,” said the 48-year-old Ward. “There are all kinds of things that I haven’t been able to do that I might want to. I’m not limiting myself, I’m keeping my options open.”
In 1979, Ward began her teaching career at Bonny Eagle High School as a math teacher. She also founded a gymnastics program which she continued throughout her tenure as a teacher. After spending five years at Bonny Eagle, Ward transferred to Thornton Academy to teach math and coach gymnastics. In 1987, she became assistant principal and athletic director at Old Orchard Beach High School. In 1990 she became a high school principal at OOB. Then, in 1998 she came back to Bonny Eagle as assistant superintendent under Dr. Robert Vincent. In March 2000 Ward succeeded Vincent, who died in an auto accident, as SAD 6 superintendent.
Pam Crabtree, Ward’s mentor when she first started teaching in 1979, still teaches math at Bonny Eagle H.S. and remembers Ward’s early teaching days.
“My memory of that year was that here’s a new teacher, you know, that I was trying to give pointers to and I’m thinking, she could really introduce me to a lot of new things, especially about organization. She was extremely efficient and organized. And I was to say the least very, very impressed with her,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree said anything that Ward did was as close to perfect as she could get it, “in a good way, of course.”
Crabtree also said Superintendent Ward had a lot to deal with during her time as SAD 6 superintendent.
“She had a rough start when you think about Bob Vincent and SAD 6 being in the middle of an accreditation problem,” said Crabtree. “I’d say she’s done a lot during her administration. A lot of facility improvements, and trying to guide the district regarding Learning Results and No Child Left Behind. Not to mention her sensitivity to the exhaustion of her staff. I think she’s been as supportive as she can be and everyone knows she puts her all into it.”
Because of Ward’s penchant for hard work, Crabtree doesn’t think Dr. Ward will be home lounging on the sofa or sunning herself on some south Florida beach during her retirement.
“I can’t believe she’ll be home baking cookies; in fact she probably doesn’t even eat cookies,” said Ward’s former mentor. “And I can’t imagine her lying on the beach. She’s just not like that.”
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