Mirna Vega-Wilson. Photo by Amika Kemmler-Ernst.
Mirna Vega-Wilson served with distinction as the Principal of the James E. Curley School (our “lower school”), overseeing it’s successful merger with the Mary Curley School (our “upper school”) which is how we became the Curley K-8 School. She became Principal here in September 2003. Following the merger, Mirna and Jeff Slater (who took over as Principal of the upper school from Michelle Madera in 2008) then served as co-Principals until 2010. In August 2010, though sad to lose her, the school community was proud to see Mirna become an Assistant Academic Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools. She retired in early 2013 from BPS.
Despite her retirement, Mirna was coaxed back to serve as Interim Principal at the Mendell School, where she was Principal prior to coming to the Curley in 2003. After her return to the Mendell, she re-retired, but was then once again convinced to come back to BPS as the Curley’s Interim Principal until the end of June. On July 1, Katie Grassa will become our new Principal.
Below are some remarks of appreciation from many members of our community:
“Mirna’s door was always open. I was amazed at how well she knew the kids at the Curley. She knew them all by name!! She was always reassuring, helpful and responsive.”
– Abbe Hershberg (former parent)
“My family is so grateful to have had the wonderful experience of Mirna’s leadership starting in 2005 when she was principal of the James Michael Curley elementary school and through the years transitioning to the Curley k-8! She had a wonderful combination of openness towards parents and their active involvement balanced by excellent professional skills in curriculum development and teacher supervision. This combination proved to be critical during the many years of change as the Curley evolved from separate elementary and middle schools into a large k-8 and added k1. She always knew children by name and how they were doing in school. What a gift that she was able to return this year to help steward the Curley k-8 towards a new principal!”
– Emily Curran (former parent)
“We had already been at the Curley for a year when Mirna arrived from the Mendell. Her predecessor, Joe, had been a big guy with an even bigger personality, so we weren’t sure what we had in Mirna who seemed reserved and rather mild by comparison. Joe was a glad-handing incautious sort who knew every kid by name and left the doors of the school open to everyone. Fairly immediately, Mirna made it clear that she would play by the book, requiring parents in the classroom to first fill out CORI forms amid other inconveniences and generally running a tighter ship.
Well, in my dealings with Mirna as classroom volunteer, music program coordinator and member of the K-8 conversion committee, she showed me the light in a hurry. By the time our youngest left for BLS eight years later, under Mirna’s leadership, the Curley had transformed from a fairly haphazard affair into the school that everyone wanted. How did she do it? I’m not sure, but I do know that she was always herself. And by so being, she was a principal for all her constituents: the district, her teachers, the parents and, most importantly, the kids.
Always true to herself, she wore her Yankee colors with pride on Red Sox day, never raised her voice, never lost her temper, and, although always maintaining that professional reserve, her natural warmth, her smile, her easy laugh and her generally fun-loving and positive attitude made it easy for the whole Curley family to join together on behalf of the school.
I worked closely with Mirna as a member of the committee that oversaw the K-8 conversion and I am sure that without Mirna, it would not have gone as smoothly as it did. I don’t think she pulled any particular strings, it was the fact of who she was (not to mention that she was already running one of the most successful elementary schools in the district) that Court Street wanted to treat her right. Had she been someone else, I’m sure we would not have come through that process with our budget increased by ten percent, two full-time principals, extended day, and fine arts and music programming across all the grades.
A consummate professional and a former teacher, Mirna was a principal the faculty could appreciate and admire. She advocated for them and defended them with the District and with the parents. She knew that money meant jobs and jobs mean people, so she got everything she could out of the budget process every year. In the K-8 conversion discussions she tirelessly explained the curriculum demands on her faculty, and their professional development requirements. The teachers respected her because she knew the curricula inside and out. Further, although she went by the book, she also knew the rules and used them to her advantage to make sure her teachers were protected during times of maternity leave or other life situations so that they knew they could depend on her for their jobs.
Mirna led by example. During her tenure, the Curley became one of the hottest schools in the district envied for its parent involvement. I am convinced that this is in large part because we parents saw Mirna’s commitment to the school and were therefore motivated to make the same commitment ourselves. She always encouraged parent involvement in the classroom and made herself available for the prospective parent tours. Most importantly, her attention to those little details like making us sign in and obtain clearances, and the announcements that invariable came out immediately after something unusual had happened, gave us parents that critical sense of security that our kids, under her supervision, were going to be safe.
But it was her commitment to the kids that really distinguished her. She knew them all. As busy as she was, she was ubiquitous in the school, interacting with the students constantly. Through the “I Choose” tradition, she interacted personally with every kid in the school at least once a year. As the music coordinator, I know that she supported the program because she knew it was important for the kids. She wrote and won a grant for band a set of band instruments for the school that the kids are playing on now. She took care of details like making sure the classes that I took to the Symphony school concerts always had bag lunches before they left. The many facets of her personality – the fact that she could speak spanish- gave her a special personal connection with each of her students that she truly seemed to cherish.
I look back on my kids’ elementary education – all at the Curley – with great fondness in large part because of Mirna Vega-Wilson and her commitment to the school, its teachers, my family and my kids and I remain truly grateful to her for all that she did.”
– Martin Thomson (former parent)
“I have known Mirna for many years. I came to know her better after I started working at the Curley. Two things I admire about her are her professionalism at all times and the respect that she always extends to all particularly staff and parents. She tries very hard to be available for parents, listens very carefully to their concerns and always strives to come up with a good solution. I remember often seeing her taking care of students who had fallen in the school yard. She would take care of them by helping them up, putting on a band aid, and calling their parent, when necessary. She has equally caring with the faculty. She is always ready to make a decision, assist with a situation, or clarify a district policy in question. She is truly a wonderful and effective leader and good friend.”
– Betty Villalba-Alvarado (Parent Coordinator)
“Mirna is an amazing school leader, I was lucky to work with her my first year at the Curley and it’s a privilege to have her back. There are many things, which makes Mirna awesome, she has many positive attributes as a principal. What stands out the most to our school community is her love for the Curley. She has the right balance, firm when it’s needed and is also gentle and loving especially with our students. She commands respect but is also respectful to others. You can count on her to take control and lead us in the right direction. She also goes out of her way to figure things out. It’s been an honor having her back at the Curley.”
– Maria Monteiro-Roby (Family & Community Outreach Coordinator)
“When I heard Mirna was coming back I felt wonderful. It was like I felt she was coming home again. I wish you a great final retirement Mirna and thanks for coming home again when we needed you.”
– Stephanie Selznick (Science Specialist)
“My fondest memories of Mirna are twofold: one, she gave a girl from the inner city a chance to be a teacher in the job that she always wanted; and, of course, the finding out of my pregnancy. :)”
– Waverly Kidd (K1 Teacher)
“During my second semester as a student teacher in Sue Seabrook’s K1 classroom, I accidentally started a fire in the microwave. The school had to evacuate and it was one of the first days of school. Everyone knew it was me, but Mirna was kind and thoughtful enough to never bring it to my attention knowing I would be mortified. She still hired me that spring for the new K1 position and a few years later we were all able to laugh about it.”
– Laura Shea (K1 Teacher)
“I will always be grateful to Mirna for coming out of retirement to see us through the last two and half months of the 2012/13 school year. When I came to school with my kids on her first day back, watching her greet the students, many of whom she remembered by name, was amazing. I was so appreciative of her warmth, leadership, and her ability to jump right in and help us through a difficult transition. Thanks, Mirna! We wish you all the best!”
– Genevieve Day (current parent)
“Thank you Mirna for skillfully helping the Curley become the strong and caring learning community we found and came to love in 2008. Ever since we stepped through the doors, we realized you had molded the Curley into a nurturing academic home not just for our family but for thousands of other families in Boston. It was the hot school to go to, with a Principal who bred admiration, respect, praise and loyalty from parents, staff, teachers, and students alike. It didn’t take long for us to feel the same way as well. Thanks also for coming back when we needed you again. When you told us that when touring the 7th and 8th grades after your return, you would gently, playfully ask why some of students you had know since kindergarten had grown moustaches, I knew they had been lucky to reconnect with you, bridging their own gap between adolescence and childhood in an instance of shared warmth, belonging, and mutual respect. I hope your real retirement will let you experience the same boundless horizons that you’ve helped so carefully cultivate in all our own kids.”
– Heshan Berents-Weeramuni (current parent)
“For years Mirna was the “glue” of the Curley, always keeping everybody calm and making sure everything ran smoothly. After a three-year hiatus, she seamlessly returned to that role this spring, ensuring we finished the year without missing a beat – just an amazing leader.”
– Bill Elsbree (current parent)
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to work with, and know, Mirna over the last six years. Not only has she always been approachable, thoughtful, and engaged, but she also saw me through the slightly traumatic process of sending my tiny girls into “real” school. I’m sure that I cried more than my kids did, and Mirna always had a reassuring word or a hug. She also had a terrific impact on my daughters, who admire and love her. I knew she’d made her mark when my then-five-year old complained about wearing a uniform because she preferred to “wear a suit like Ms. Vega-Wilson.””
– Carrie Fletcher (current parent)
Thank you Mirna. Enjoy your well deserved retirement!
