Honoring a Legacy of Educational Leadership and Children’s Literature

Next week, the library at the Balch School in South Norwood will be officially dedicated and renamed the Grace M. Beverly Memorial Library in honor of the school’s esteemed former principal. A formal dedication ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on October 20 in the school auditorium, with members of the school committee, school administration, Women’s Community Committee, Balch PTA, and local Girl Scout leaders in attendance.

Among the honored guests invited are Miss Beverly’s two sisters, Mrs. Robert Domingue of Andover and Mrs. Robert Burgess of Marshfield. Miss Beverly served with distinction as principal of the Balch School from 1940 until her retirement in 1961, remaining deeply active in community affairs until her passing in 1973.

The initiative to memorialize Miss Beverly through the school library was first advanced a year prior by PTA members and the Women’s Community Committee. A dedicated planning committee—organized by current Balch Principal Andrew Ciarletta—included prominent community and educational leaders such as Assistant Superintendent Umberto V.C. Napoleone, Selectman Joseph W. Wall, Olga Abdallah, and retired principals Mildred Lane, Mary Dean, and Agnes Hedberg. According to Principal Ciarletta, donations to the Grace M. Beverly Memorial Fund contributed by the Norwood Teachers’ Association, the Women’s Community Committee, and the Balch PTA have reached approximately $900, which will be dedicated to purchasing new books and library materials.

Tributes Highlight a Lifelong Dedication to Students and Storytelling

The decision to dedicate the library stemmed directly from Miss Beverly’s profound lifelong passion for children’s literature. “I hope the fund will be a perpetuating thing,” Principal Ciarletta remarked, noting her extensive civic involvement with the Women’s Community Committee and the Girl Scouts. Assistant Superintendent Napoleone, who taught under Miss Beverly at the Balch School, expressed deep gratitude for the school committee’s formal approval of the naming, recalling her as “a very special person.”

“She stood for fair play and good sportsmanship,” Napoleone said. “She was almost a fanatic about the children’s library.” He fondly recalled her dedication to reading aloud to students: “She tried to perpetuate the art of story-telling.” Colleagues also remembered her extraordinary administrative grace, noting her unique gift for “resolving controversy in a way that preserved the individual.”

Retired teacher Miss Cecilia Mitchell, who shared a joint retirement with Miss Beverly in June 1961, remembered her warmth and accessibility. “She was a very understanding person. You could approach her at any time,” Mitchell said, adding that before stepping into the principal role, Beverly taught fifth grade and was immensely well-liked throughout South Norwood. Echoing those sentiments, Women’s Community Committee President Mrs. John Bremer described Miss Beverly as “a lady in the strict sense of the word,” noting that the library dedication was fitting because “we know that the Balch School was very dear to her heart.”