Life Achievement Award

And that is Dr. Morrissey-Smith. She is here for us. She's been part of Brockton Public Schools for over 36 years, and we got her to ourselves at the Baker School for 11 1/2 of them. Now the district is lucky to have her serving as the Coordinator for ELA and Social Studies for grades K-5. There's no question about her dedication to the students of Brockton. She's not at this (May 2022) PTA meeting for any other reason than to speak to families about what they hope to get out of ELA for their students.

That she knew of.

Fortunately for us she wanted to come today to speak, so we didn't have to think of some clever way to try to get her here to surprise her. Not that it would be hard to get her to come. We could have simply asked her to come and she'd have made time for us. Because that's what Michele does.

For years she fought and kept the Lexia program going at the Baker school, which is such a boon to our students' literacy. She worked to get books that she could give out to our students for free, and held Bingo for Books nights, and Free Book Fridays during the school closure. She always was generous with her time with students, staff, and the PTA. More than once she danced out into the school greeting everyone as Bobby. She was always available to help with PTA events and is always so supportive.

And so, it is with extreme pleasure that we present our 2022 National PTA Life Achievement Award to Dr. Morrissey-Smith. Thank you for being a tireless advocate for our students and the type of person that we all should strive to emulate.

Mary McGilvery has been at the Baker since the beginning, though she taught for Brockton Public Schools for 36 years. To say that she has dedicated her life to our students is an understatement. After retiring over 15 years ago, she remains a constant presence here at the Baker.

Not only does she continue to step in as needed to cover classes, but she attended every PTA meeting, supporting the ever-changing group of parents who step into those roles.

She can be found hiding behind the lens of her camera, freezing little moments in time year after year. She collects those memories and puts together a beautiful yearbook for our families. Even this year, despite being remote for most of it, despite not having Lifetouch in to take portraits of our students, Miss McGilvery stepped up and made sure we had something beautiful. This included her tirelessly tracking down every single student in the school and getting a picture of them to include in the yearbook. Did we mention she’s tenacious?

Though we know she prefers to hide in the background, the Baker PTA is honored to grant the 2021 National PTA Life Achievement Award to the indomitable Miss Mary McGilvery.

Joanne Gordon has been at the Baker since the beginning, though she has been teaching for Brockton Public Schools for longer than that. Each year the scholarship committee sees her name turn up in student essays, talking about the difference she has made in their lives. And chances are good she’s still in touch with them and can tell you about their recent accomplishments.

Every year she helps with the PTA’s annual Polar Express event. You can find her talking with our bobcats while they do crafts and eat cookies, making sure they know they are seen and that they matter. It’s really no wonder students remember her fondly a decade after they would have been in her first-grade class.

The Baker PTA is honored to grant our first ever National PTA Life Achievement Award to the always amazing Mrs. Joanne Gordon.