By Adam Swift
The school committee held a moment of silence for former superintendent of schools Peter Finn at its meeting on Monday night.
Finn died at the age of 84 last week. Among other roles, Finn also served as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Superintendents of Schools Association.
“He was a devoted staff member here, and devoted to our community and our students,” said School Committee Chair Jennifer Powell. “We would like to extend our condolences to his wife, Marie Finn, a retired phys ed teacher who remains committed and devoted to our students, working and volunteering at the Cummings School. We thank you for your service.”
Current Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard noted that even after he left as superintendent in Winthrop, he came back to the system to fill in for some athletic directing help, as well as helping out with refereeing some sports.
“He was just a special guy, and when I took over as superintendent … but he took the time out of his life and talked to me and told me he was proud of me, which was kind of cool, because I was always afraid of him,” said Howard.
Howard said Finn was very smart about getting kids to do what they needed to do, whether it was on the athletic field or in class.
“He was a coach as a superintendent,” said Howard. “I know you’ve heard talk about that before, superintendency, there is no school for that. However, coaching leads you to success, no matter what. If you are a strong coach and you have a good relationship with your team and you expect the most, show up to practice, work together, and train hard; and that was Peter Finn.”
Howard also praised Marie Finn for the work she has done with students, even after her official retirement.
“The kids relate to her, and they do things for her that they wouldn’t do for our staff on a good day,” said Howard. “She comes in in the morning and she controls the chaos in the Arthur T. Cummings cafeteria, where students are dropped off and we have support and supervision in that room. Marie is going to take a little bit of time off, but she knows that she is welcome to come back and continue with the support with the families she does have here in the Winthrop Public Schools.”