As Monday’s School Committee meeting drew to a close, Chair Mary Traphagen made an announcement that only her fellow committee members knew was coming. Traphagen will step down from the committee at the end of February, after serving nearly four years on the board and two years as chair.
“It’s a hard decision,” Traphagen said, with a long pause to regain control of her emotions. She said her resignation was for personal reasons and she was grateful for the strong support she had received from everyone on the committee. “I will miss it greatly,” she concluded. “It’s been an honor.”
Committee member Jon Green broke the momentary silence that followed her statement, saying, “I want to thank you now for all the service you have given … You’ll be missed. You’ve had a real impact and a positive influence.” Other committee members murmured their agreement.
After the meeting Traphagen said she was leaving the demanding committee to return to work full time while her children attend college. Besides chairing the School Committee since April 2017, Traphagen has also served on the School Building Committee for the new elementary school project and on various subcommittees within the School Committee. Holding a master’s degree in early childhood education, Traphagen has also worked for seven years at the Village Nursery School.
Looking back at her years in office, Traphagen wrote in an email that what she liked best were the occasions when the School Committee could see its work “has a real, tangible, and direct effect on students’ lives.” Such occasions included judging the Bromfield science fair, meeting with the Student Advisory Council, and times when students presented their projects to the School Committee. Traphagen also recalled being part of an “incredibly fun” group effort that brought the pole vault to Bromfield’s outdoor track program. “It’s all about the students,” she concluded, quoting the committee’s mantra.
Traphagen was first elected to the School Committee in April 2015. At that time, she had served as a parent representative on the Hildreth Elementary School Council for six years, chaired the HES playground committee in 2011, and been a coach and Girl Scout troop leader.
School Committee members chose Traphagen as their chair in 2017. She was re-elected to both the committee and the position as chair in April 2018.
When she was running for her first term on School Committee, Traphagen said, “I love Harvard—its open spaces, smallness, and the surprising variety of people who live here.” Now that she is resigning, she said she still hopes to find a way to give back to this town when time and circumstances permit.
