PEABODY — It was a school year like no other in the memory of students attending city schools in 2020 and in the minds of most people working in the schools.
“This has been one of the most challenging years I can ever remember,” said City Councilor-at-Large Tom Rossignoll.
Rossignoll said those words in January before coronavirus struck in late March and after the city saw a quartet of deaths that weighed heavily on local residents.
On August 31, Evelyn Pinto, 48, mother of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School senior Bianca and her freshman brother, Will Pinto, was killed. Pinto’s husband, William Pinto, was seriously injured when their automobile was struck by a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in Saugus.
On Nov. 20, 13-year-old Jackson Frechette was killed on Route 114 near the Walgreens Plaza. He was attempting to cross the road on his bicycle when he was struck and killed by a car driven by a 19-year-old Peabody man.
Seven days later on Thanksgiving Day, the city was stunned to learn of the sudden death of School Superintendent Cara Murtagh. Only 44 years old, Murtagh, just days before her death, was full of life, working the crowd with the cheerleaders at a Peabody football game.
“Cara was so full of fun and energy and laughter every day of her life,” Rossignoll said.
Murtagh worked in Peabody schools for 23 years, starting as a first-grade teacher at St. John’s School.
Three days after Murtagh’s death, tragedy struck again when PVMHS vice-principal Judith Maniatis died unexpectedly on Nov. 30.
A popular special education, IEP Chairperson and “B” House dean, Maniatis had been with Peabody schools for 20 years.
Even as educators, students and other city residents mourned Peabody’s losses, school and city officials vowed to bounce back from the Dec. 11 decision of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to not accept Peabody High and the Center School into the MSBA’s current eligibility period, the city plans to file Statements of Interest (SOI) for four school projects this year.
School Committee member Beverley Ann Griffin Dunne said the biggest needs at the high school include inadequate heat and air flow and inadequate science labs space. In addition, Center School has a leaky roof and lacks dedicated space for a library (currently located in a classroom), gymnasium and cafeteria.
“These buildings were built in a different time with different needs and they do not meet the needs of the 21st century,” said Dunne.
The city pushed ahead with plans for the work in February and by the month’s end, the Peabody Education Foundation announced the establishment of the Cara E. Murtagh Memorial Scholarship.
The School Committee also picked Murtagh’s successor even as Dr. Marc Kerble handled interim superintendent duties.
The board voted 7-0 to hire Dr. Joshua Vadala, a Peabody resident, for the position. His formal start date is July 1 but Vadala, in an email, said, “I have already begun to engage with people in the community.”
For Kerble, coronavirus meant shifting schools to at-home learning complete with remote learning plans and helping coordinate free meal distributions to families hit economically by the pandemic.
As March turned into April, he updated educators, parents and students about the school system’s virtual operation plan.
In mid April, City Councilor Jon Turco unveiled an initiative to create banners saluting the 350 graduating seniors and hanging the banners from PMLP poles across the city.
Although Turco’s banner idea was ultimately shelved, Saugus native Mike Gallant of Perfect Parties USA in Peabody reached out to help the Class of 2020 celebrate.
Students also stepped up to boost spirits during coronavirus with Peabody Veterans Memorial High School junior Amber Kiricoples launching an online fundraising campaign to raise money for Mental Health America (MHA), a 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to addressing mental health before a crisis through screening, advocacy, education and awareness.
As coronavirus restrictions eased in May, around the time seniors would be graduating, the School Committee announced Veterans Memorial High School’s new principal, Steven Magno.
For Revere educator, Magno’s hiring offered a chance to return to the city where he grew up.
He attended the Burke Elementary School and Higgins Middle School.
Magno spent 10 years in Revere as a high school administrator, including four years as Seacoast Alternative High School principal as part of his 22-year education career.
By the end of May, the Peabody Education Foundation capped off the year on a positive note by announcing the winner of the first “Cara E. Murtagh Memorial Scholarship.”
Seven applications were received, and Kassidy Butt was unanimously selected as the recipient.
Although the 153 Class of 2020 graduates did not get a Peabody traditional first Friday in June graduation day, class officers closed the year out on a high note with hopes of attending an August ceremony saluting senior accomplishments.