Paige Academy

                   Administration        Departments

                                                               Contact us

 

    

FRIENDS OF PAIGE ACADEMY HONOR EDUCATORS AT FUNDRAISER

 
On August 17th, Brother Ted and Sister Elena Dodd, members of the Paige Academy Founders' group, hosted a fundraiser at their home in Jamaica Plain--a dinner party featuring foods of the Indian Diaspora and inviting donors to honor someone among their families or friends who had a strong commitment to education. Board members, staff, and friends from the wider community got together to enjoy delicious pakoras (crispy vegetables in batter), chicken in a spicy butter sauce, raita (cucumbers and mint in yogurt), mutter paneer  (peas with cottage cheese), kheer (custard dessert with vermicelli, in South Indian style), Jamaican vegetable curry with coconut milk, and other dishes, as well as a cooling limeade, sweet and sour lassi drinks, and sangría with white wine, oranges, and pineapple! 
 
We thank Sisters Deepti, Cheri, and Vaishali of the Paige staff, and their husbands, Deepak Garg, Bruce Thomas, and Prashant Mohan, for making this a very special event. Along with Deepti, Cheri, and Vaishali, other outstanding chefs contributing to the meal were Mary Birnbaum, Paige Board member Paula Coar, and Monique Douglas. 
 
As Sister Angela told us, in speaking about Paige and its history, Paige Academy has evolved into an international school in recent years, and hopes to welcome students from Senegal, Dubai, and other parts of the world in the near future.
 
Here are a few scenes from the party: preparation, celebration, and feasting, in a spirit of Umoja/Unity, Nia/Purpose, and Imani/Faith.

 
Photos by Sis Elena Dodd and  Bro Ashé Cook

 

 

PAIGE ACADEMY DINNER HONOREES
August 17, 2008

 
GWENDOLYN and  JOSEPH ALLEN: Honored by their daughter Joanne Allen Willoughby and son-in-law Gerald Willoughby. “For their dedication to ensuring that my sister and I had the best education possible, not only academically but socially.”--Sister Joanne Allen Willoughby.
 
ABE BERS: Honored by his wife, Nanny Burrage Bers. “A professor of electrical engineering and plasma physics at MIT for close to 50 years, and now spending almost all his waking hours writing a textbook based on his notes.” --Nanny Bers
 
MARINA UMASCHI BERS: Honored by her mother, Lydia Umaschi. A professor of in the Child Development and Computer Science departments at Tufts University’s Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development.
 
SAUL BIRNBAUM: Honored by his son-in-law Mark Adler. Teacher of math for over 30 years at Bronx Community College and the Little Red School House in New York City.
 
GWENDOLYN JOHNSON BROOKS: Honored by her daughter Angela Brooks Cook and son-in-law Joe Cook, Jr. A school principal,  Assistant Secretary in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C., and mother of two children.
 
KATHARINE BURRAGE, honored by her daughter Nanny Bers, son Nick Burrage, daughter-in-law Charlotte Burrage, and grandson Josh Bers. Speech therapist for the Boston Public Schools in Roxbury and the South End for 11 years; a member of the Founders group of Paige Academy, where she served on the Board of Trustees and was a speech and play therapist for 10 years.
 
RONALD EDWARD CARROLL: Honored by his father, Ron Carroll. Director of Teens, Roxbury Boys’ Club. “He wanted to give back to the Community.” -- Brother Ron Carroll
 
JOHN CONNELL: Honored by his wife Margie’s friend Nanny Burrage Bers. “He has spent his entire career teaching physics at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Massachusetts.” --Nanny Bers

NANNIE COOK: Honored by her grandson Ahmed Cook, her son Joe Cook, Jr., and daughter-in-law Angela Brooks Cook. “Joe and I will honor Joe’s mom, Dr. Nannie Laura Brown Prachett Cook, educator, teacher, a principal in the Jefferson County Schools, AL, for 45 years,  member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, graduate of Alabama State University, and mother of five children. She was principal of a segregated elementary school in Bessemer, AL. It was a wonderful school, with a wood-burning stove to heat it.  It had really loving and dedicated teachers.  All the children and families who went to the school loved Mrs. Cook so much that at her funeral, hundreds of her past students attended. Several spoke about how she changed their lives and the lives of so many of the poor coal miners’ families who attended the school.” --Sister Angela Cook
 
COUMBA DIALLO: Honored by her daughter, Fatima Diallo. “My mom did a lot for the community in Dakar, Senegal. She was always helping and guiding people. Her name has the same meaning as the Kwanza Principle Kuumba--Creativity.” --Sister Fatima Diallo.
 
ELENA DODD: Honored by her neighbor Lauren Paap. “Because of the way you lit up when you talked about the program at Paige Academy. I felt it was worth participating in and honoring. You spoke from the heart.”
--Lauren Paap
 
DEEPTI GARG: Honored by her husband, Deepak Garg. She has taught web site design and is currently Chief Financial Officer for Paige Academy--a colleague who gladly shares her culture and friendship.
 
HENRY HARAP: Honored by his daughter Elena Harap Dodd and son-in-law Ted Dodd. A teacher at Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, and ardent believer in educating children to become responsible citizens, and to enjoy a full, productive life in a democratic society.
 
GAY HAROUTUNIAN: Honored by her sister Nanny Bers. A speech therapist in rural northern Maine for over 30 years.
 
SISTER MILDRED MAUS and SISTER HELEN MARIE MORRIS: Honored by their niece, Kathy Morris. Sister Mildred taught math at St. Joseph’s  and at Mission High School in Roxbury, MA. Sister Helen Marie was the first in her family to earn a Ph D. She taught at St Elizabeth’s College in New Jersey. The two were members of the Order of Sisters of Charity; they met for the first time at the wedding of Sister Mildred’s sister to Sister Helen Marie’s brother--this couple became the parents of Kathy Morris, who became the second in her family to earn a Ph. D., served on the Paige Academy Board, and is now a member of Paige’s Board of Elders.
 
DR. JITENDRA MOHAN and DR. VIJAY LAXMI: Honored by their son Prashant Mohan and daughter-in-law Vaishali Singh. “My husband’s parents are both professors. They’ve spent the whole of their lifetime dedicated and committed to education. As of now, Dr. Jitendra Mohan is working as Head of the Botany Dept. in Meerut University and Dr. Vijay Laxmi is a professor of science in a girls’ college.” --Sister Vaishali Singh
 
JULIANA RODRIGUES: Honored by her daughter, Cheri Rodrigues, and her son-in-law, Bruce Thomas. She has actively worked in the field of East Indian Education for the past 20 years in Dubai, and for 5 years in India.
 
KIMBERLY SILK, CHERYL SQUELIA, and JENNIFER SQUELIA: Honored by Kathy Mireault, friend of Cheryl and Jennifer Squeglia and cousin of Kimberly Silk, and by Kathy’s husband, Michael Menke. Lowell Public School Teachers Extraordinaires. 
 
ADRIENNE WILLIAMS TAYLOR:  Honored by her sister, Alvene Williams. She is an educator in the Natick School System, recently retired.
 
DR. P.T. (PUTHIAPARAMPIL) THOMAS: Honored by his daughter-in-law, Cheri Rodrigues-Thomas and son Bruce Thomas. A faculty member in the Department of Medicine at Sibu College in Malaysia. 
 
JOEY ULLRICH: Honored by his dad, Scott Ullrich. A hard worker who does well in the face of many challenges and takes pride in his work.
 
HECTOR UMASCHI: Honored by his daughter, Marina Umaschi Bers, and son-in-law, Josh Bers. A law professor in Argentina, he greatly enjoyed teaching.
 
SUSAN and RALPH WILLOUGHBY: Honored by their son Gerald Willoughby and daughter-in-law Joanne Allen Willoughby. “They are dedicated to the education of children of color. Susan Willoughby is Chair of the Social Work Department at Atlantic Union College in Lancaster, MA.” --Sister Joanne Allen Willoughby.

 
wishing everyone a fall season of Kujichaguli/Self-Determination and Kuumba/Creativity,
Your reporter, Sister Elena