By Jennifer Lucarelli, Contributing Writer
Photo/Jennifer Lucarelli
Shrewsbury – As senior custodian at the Floral Street School community, David Poe is an integral part of keeping the school running smoothly. Not only does he daily complete a full slate of duties, he also serves as an unofficial “go-to person” ?for each staff member and student in the 800-student school.
That dedication and loyalty has earned him a nomination for the John P. Collins Award for Excellence.
The award, named for the former Shrewsbury Public Schools superintendent, is given out annually by the Shrewsbury Education Foundation. According the foundation's website, it honors recipients for “the exemplary efforts of those whose work brings to life the mission of the Shrewsbury Public Schools:? to provide students with the skills and knowledge for the 21st century, an appreciation of our democratic tradition and the desire to continue to learn throughout life.”
“Mr. Poe, of course, does all of those functions, but he goes above and beyond when performing them and takes such pride and skill when doing them,” said Melissa Hollenback, a parent at Floral Street School who nominated him for the award. “When teachers or parents want to put in a little garden, even though it might make his job harder to mow or maintain in the long run, he does not complain. He actually says it looks nice and then adds that to his chores for maintaining in the future – he never seems to complain.”
Members of the Floral Street School PTO Executive Board also nominated Poe for the award.
“He truly comes to work each and every day with a “can do” ?spirit and always shows incredible school spirit,” they said in their nomination.
“David is a magnet for students – they love to help him and he always has student volunteers jumping up and down at the opportunity to help Mr. Poe. I have also watched David help fix students projects that got dismantled on the bus, always running down to his office to “grab something that will fix that” and reappearing to the amazement of students,”one member wrote.
The board also said David teaches everyone how important it is to take care of the school and his pride in the building is evident to all.
“David takes every opportunity he can to engage students and offers compassion and kind words to students as they make their way through each day,” a member said.
When Poe isn's working at the school, he enjoys restoring old chests he finds at local flea markets and has even donated a few at a recent fundraiser at the school.
“I also love music and have a huge record collection,” Poe said. “I also play guitar and piano.”
Poe even plays guitar at the all-school meetings throughout the year. He also enjoys being a ?disc jockey at events.
“I really love the people I work with – it's like a big family here,” said Poe of the Floral Street School community. “Everyone really cares for each other and they help and have a positive attitude.”
Poe said he is honored to receive the Collins Award but added, “A lot of other people deserve it around here.”
He is among 10 people who will be honored at the annual Shrewsbury Education Foundation dinner at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston on Saturday, Jan. 25. The other award winners are:? Sherwood Middle School Principal Jane Lizotte, Spring Street School Principal Bryan Mabie, Oak Middle School Spanish teacher Susana Pierce, Spring Street School ABA technician Kim Golosh, Beal Early Childhood Center kindergarten teacher Sara Biadasz, Shrewsbury High School teacher Peter Collins, Shrewsbury High School history teacher Amy O”Leary, Sherwood Middle School language arts/social studies teacher Carol Virzi and Paton Elementary School secretary Katie Fox.
For more information visit www. shrewsbury-edfoundation.org.
