Medfield High School's Katie Nunes retiring!

On June 8, 2014, Katie Nunes participated in her last Medfield High School Graduation ceremony as the Dean of Academics at Medfield High School. On October 1st, she will be retiring from the Medfield Public Schools after 13 years here.

I have known Katie for quite a few years. I met her when my children attended Medfield High School and she had just been hired. I have great respect for her and her work ethic; she works selflessly to ensure that MHS students are given every opportunity to further their learning experience.

Jeff Sperling, MHS Assistant Principal, has worked alongside Ms. Nunes for 9 plus years, and under the direction of three different principals. Here is what he had to say about his friend and co-worker. “Katie was a huge help in my transition to Medfield, and has remained a support every year since. She worked tirelessly to find the best academic opportunities for our students through expanding MHS’ course offerings; not only at Medfield High School, but by reaching beyond our walls to find online programs and independent study courses for our evolving learners. Katie also worked to oversee our teachers, and helped develop many of them into the talented and skilled professionals they are today. Through it all, she remained a positive and compassionate educator. I wish her well in her retirement, and feel fortunate to have worked so closely with her in my nine years at Medfield High School.”

Prior to coming to Medfield, Ms. Nunes spent 15 years at Brookline High School as an Associate Dean of Students and Spanish teacher.

Medfield High School Principal, Robert Parga, had this to say about Nunes. “Katie has been a tremendous asset to the Medfield High School community. Her dedication and commitment to our students and teachers will be missed. I have learned a great deal from Katie and I wish her all the best as she begins her retirement.”

Nunes graduated from Framingham State College in 1977 with a French major and Spanish and Education minors, an M.A. in Two Romance Languages from Boston College in 1985 and a Masters in Educational Administration from University of Massachusetts, Boston in 1990.

Nunes was a French teacher in 1977 at Acton-Boxboro Junior High School. She explains that her first five years of teaching were always “taking someone’s place while they were on leave”.

When asked about these early years she said “I went from Acton-Boxboro to the Houghton Elementary School in Sterling, MA, back to Acton-Boxboro, then to Warren Jr. High in Newton. I decided at that point to pursue a “Masters in Two Romance Languages” at Boston College.

“I was a teaching fellow at Boston College while getting my degree and stayed on as a part-time lecturer at BC for two years. From there I switched to high school teaching and taught Spanish for one year at Concord-Carlisle, (another “leave” position) before being recruited to Brookline High.”

Superintendent, Jeffrey Marsden, had this to say, “Katie’s leadership as Dean of Academics has been a key component of the success of Medfield High School. She has always been a valued member of our leadership team and her expertise will be greatly missed.”

Nunes last day at Medfield High School is less than 48 hours from now, so I asked her what she is most looking forward to in retirement. ”My plan is to not wake up at 5 a.m......and to learn how to do agility training with my dog and lots of bicycle riding and dog walks.....I also hope to travel!” She also told me that if she decides to do some type of work in retirement, it will either involve using Spanish or work that involves some sort of teacher training - like the Aspen grade book!

When asked about any moments that stood out while working at Medfield High School, Nunes said, “I had the opportunity while in Medfield to chaperone a trip to Spain and a trip to France, and that was very special! I feel very lucky to have been able to work in education for all my working years and to have the opportunity to retire while I still love my job and my colleagues.”

Ms. Nunes lives in Wrentham with her husband of 28 years, Gerald Danca, and she has one daughter, Valerie, who is living in Providence Rhode Island and is a sophomore at Rhode Island College where she is pursuing a Youth Development major.

Katie, Congratulations on your retirement and thank you for all you have done for the students at Medfield High School. Enjoy every moment of every new opportunity that awaits you!