Henry O. Peabody School Director Ruth Shea Ponders Retirement After 14 Years-August 12, 1980

Ruth Shea greets visitors to her office at the Henry O. Peabody School with a warm smile and an outstretched hand. She doesn’t look tough. She looks kind, intelligent and in command. But she has been described as “a tough bird,” usually by those who respect her the most. “I don’t mind being called tough,” she says with a smile. “I believe in standards. I am not easy to push around because I want the best for the school.” After 14 years as director of the Henry O. Peabody Vocational School, Ruth Shea, 61, is retiring August 31 maybe. “If they do not have a replacement by then, I will stay on temporarily,” she said yesterday, admitting she has mixed feelings about retiring. “It sounds great for everyone else but when it comes to yourself, it’s a different story,” she said.

She has worked since she was in high school in Worcester and she figures this is no time to stop. When she leaves her job here, she will launch a new career, perhaps even her own business. “I am not going to get old,” she said, and some of that toughness comes through. “I’ll find some other way to use the talent I have.” It’s not only talent that she brings to her job. Nor is it only 37 years of experience in vocational education. She brings an unusual dedication, commitment and ability to inspire others. Before coming to Norwood as director of the Peabody School, she was a home economics teacher for 22 years and worked for several years for the State Department of Education, Division of Occupational Education.

She demands excellence from her faculty, students and herself. In return she receives loyalty, motivated students and teachers and a highly respected vocational education program that attracts students from the entire area. “For some of our students, this is their last shot to continue their education. They need the best kind of talent and program,” she said. She personally interviews every student who applies and usually warns them, “This is not the place to come to fool around. We only have time to teach.” Students can train for careers in practical nursing, culinary arts, business, fashion design and merchandising and cosmetology. The school finds jobs for 97 percent of its graduates.

During Shea’s tenure, enrollment has doubled to an all-time high of 240 students for the coming school year. She attributes the increase to the economic picture which demands people have a skill to offer employers and a wider acceptance of vocational education by the public. She is particularly proud of the faculty she has brought together by using her contacts in the business world to attract the best qualified teachers. There is a shortage of classroom space and she would like to explore the possibility of using space in the adjacent high school as enrollment there drops. She also feels the school needs to expand its program offerings in health-related fields. The practical nursing program is particularly popular and even when filled, not a day goes by that the school does not receive inquiries for admission.

The Peabody School returns money to the town each year because out-of-town students pay tuition and there are funds from the investment of the Henry O. Peabody Trust funds. However, Shea admits it has been a tough battle to expand programs in the face of pressures to cut school budgets. “There are other priorities,” she says. She is retiring now because she wants to leave when things are good. “You need 100 percent stamina and strength. It is only fair to the students, faculty and community. This is a good time for someone else to take over.” She will continue to live in Norwood for a while. School committee member Rudith Berkowitz describes Ruth Shea as an “intelligent, clever, career woman who has done a remarkable job with the school. She is demanding but has a soft spot for people who are looking to change direction.” She will not be easy to replace even by another tough bird with a soft spot.

(Reporting by Marion Earley for The Patriot Ledger).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger