By Joan Goodchild, Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – Kindergarten and first-grade students at the Beal Early Childhood Center in Shrewsbury are greeted warmly each day by Principal Alice Brennan as they get off the bus and head to their classrooms. It's a ritual Brennan never misses.
“I think it's time well-spent,” Brennan said. “We want them to feel a sense of community here. We specifically refer to them as “friends” and go into the meaning of that here. Our hope is that they feel appreciated and loved.”
Brennan has been spreading her version of love and acceptance within the Shrewsbury School District for 26 years. She began as a kindergarten teacher at Coolidge Elementary School in 1986, and was a teacher at Beal when it first opened in 1987. Since then, she has served in several roles at the school – as a kindergarten teacher, a curriculum specialist and an instructional coach. She took on the principal's role in 2007.
“It's a fabulous age,” Brennan said about the early-elementary years. “The biggest discipline problem we typically deal with is spitting at this age. And parents are always enthusiastic and caring about their children. We have to no trouble recruiting parents to volunteer and help out on the PTO.”
When the current school year winds down in a few months, it will also be Brennan's last time to greet students. She plans to retire in order to spend more time with family, including her grandchildren. She currently has three grandchildren under 6 months old.
“I want to be able to be there for them, and for my kids,” she said.
In more than two decades, Brennan said, the biggest change she has seen is the focus of curriculum in the Kindergarten classroom.
“It's gone from mostly play-based to academic-based,” she said. “Kindergarten used to be where little kids played. Not too long ago they were learning to walk.”
She has also seen teachers increasingly dip into their own pockets for school supplies as tight budgets continue to force funds to be cut. In fact, because of district budget woes, Shrewsbury officials plan to replace Brennan with Paton Elementary School Principal Jane Wilkin. Wilkin will manage both schools for the 2012-2013 school year as a temporary measure while officials figure out a permanent solution in the face of the current $3 million budget gap.
While Brennan is leaving Beal, she said she still plans to be involved as a community member. She has been a Town Meeting member for several years. And, she has plans to serve as a school volunteer.
“I love this school,” she said “And I love this town, too.”