For eight years, Mary O’Connor has served Roosevelt as a counseling secretary and a leader of the Building Leadership Team (BLT). Sadly, this is her last year working at Roosevelt. Although her time here is coming to an end, O’Connor’s departure has given the student body and staff the opportunity to reflect upon her legacy at Roosevelt.
O’Connor originally came to the school as a special education teaching assistant before becoming Roosevelt’s counseling secretary and an integral part of the BLT. Through these positions, O’Connor has formed a real connection to the community. “I didn’t expect to be here as long as I have been here, but I’ve been having fun,” she says. “I have a lot of great memories with the kids who have been my TAs and just people who have come into the office.”
Holding a job that promotes interactivity, such as counseling secretary, has proved valuable in allowing O’Connor to build lasting relationships. O’Connor took that process one step farther by becoming a key member of the BLT, which she had prior experience with from being on the team at a previous school. She applied her previous background to aid in creating programs designed to advance Roosevelt’s methodology and school policy to create a better system for all.
“A big focus here is on MTSS [Multi-Tier Support System] programs,” O’Connor said. “We were also working on getting our continued learning plan, and so I think that that was the first really good plan we had in a long time.” These plans are designed to create a path through which Roosevelt can move towards a more just and efficient academic process.
Despite the fact that many plans had to be revisited, adapted, and expanded upon due to COVID-19, O’Connor has been deeply invested in supporting Roosevelt, with both organizational critiques and praises for the path the school has taken during her tenure. She has taken notice of the good things that have come from the way that Roosevelt has handled moving forward in the pandemic, particularly the school’s transition towards an online approach to learning.
O’Connor says, “I think we discovered a few things that have made things better,” More specifically she says, “We’re learning to be a little more careful with how we communicate, and using Schoology more as a tool, and trying to use more electronic recording of forms.” Connectivity is a huge part of the role she plays in the RHS system and her impression upon others is evident.
O’Connor’s impact reaches far beyond that of a secretary, making her mark across multiple tiers of the RHS community, especially those with whom she’s worked, such as the other counselors.
Ronald Stuart, a current counselor at Roosevelt, vividly remembers meeting and working with O’Connor. He says, “When I interviewed for this job 4 years ago, I glanced around the table and saw the staff interviewing me smiling and nodding their heads as I answered. When I got to Mary, she was glaring at me with a death stare, like I just killed her cat. I thought ‘who is this and why does she hate me?!’ But, once we began to work together, I soon learned that while Mary has a bit of a gruff exterior, she is one of the kindest, most caring people I have ever met. She is so great with the students, the families, and extremely organized in running the counseling office.”
Stuart says, “I will really miss our downtime discussing the merits of Dick’s cheeseburgers and Tom Petty. The counseling office will not be the same without her.”
When asked about what she hopes to do moving forward from RHS, she said that although she is fortunate to have traveled a fair amount, she is planning on staying home until restrictions aren’t so stringent. “We have a granddaughter coming in another month or two, so I expect to be down there soon,” she says.
As we look back on O’Connor’s time at Roosevelt, it’s clear that she has made her mark on Roosevelt, just as Roosevelt has also left its mark on her. O’Connor hopes that Roosevelt can continue in the positive direction it’s going. “It’s all about the kids, ” she says. But with her departure, It’s time to return the appreciation and care she gives to us, so now, it’s all about Ms. O’Connor.
