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Sunday, February 03, 2013 By Sara G. and Catherin C.
 Watertown Middle School guidance counselor Debra Carolan retired after 28 years in Watertown. -
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Guided
to new
paths
Carolan, Brooks
retire from WMS
By SARA G. and CATHERIN C.
Watertown Splash staff reporters
Guidance counselor Debra Carolan retired in November after 28 years in Watertown.
“It’s been a wonderful experience working with students, families, and teachers,” she said.
Ms. Carolan believes that offering a small change in a student's approach in academics, can make a huge difference in their performance.
Ashley Davis has been hired to replace Ms. Carolan, and she has already started working with the eighth-graders.
Ms. Carolan said she enjoyed teaching health and guidance classes, teacher awareness, lunch groups, and having meetings with parents and teachers for the children, and working with students in “Let’s Get Real.”
She said she also enjoyed getting to know students’ strengths and weaknesses so they could work together for improvement. Ms. Carolan had a fantastic time working with diverse groups of students. Overall, Ms, Carolan said she enjoyed all of the aspects of her job.
Some things that you might not know about Ms. Carolan is that she wasn’t always a guidance counselor. She taught five years of special education in Boston, Arlington, and Belmont public schools. Ms. Carolan moved to Derry, N.H., just to get to be a guidance counselor. Then, she went on to be the core chairperson for two elementary schools. Ms. Carolan also worked with counselors from the whole district learning from them about student needs and ways to assist grades K-12.
When Ms. Carolan was asked what she would have prefered to be other than a guidance counselor, she said that instead of replacing her job, she would take her job a step further into counseling sick children and families at hospitals
In the new free time that she will have, Ms. Carolan said she’d like to spend more time with family, doing more yoga, oil painting, traveling, and reading a million books.
“I have truly enjoyed working here at WMS and will miss all the students and teachers so much,” she said. “I know that the students will continue to do well in eighth grade and excel at high school. Best wishes to all.”
Ms. Carolan wasn’t the only longtime staff member to retire recently. School nurse Lillian Brooks has decided to leave after 11 years in Watertown, including six at WMS.
“Working with students was my favorite part,” said Ms. Brooks. “Students are so unique and there’s always something interesting happening when they come into my office.”
Although she is retiring, she is not done working. Ms. Brooks is going to be a substitute teacher and babysit her grandchildren three days a week.
“My time here has been wonderful,’’ she said. “I’m going to miss everyone.”
--Feb. 3, 2013--
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