CAMPUS

Taking AttendanceMore than half of the Class of 1959attended the 2009 Reunion Weekend.Other classes weren’t far behind.195923 of 42 attended, 55 percentJoan Shaw Herman Award Winner:Her CA Roommate, Nancy Read Coville ’49199939 of 88 attended, 44 percent198433 of 76 attended, 40 percent196922 of 71 attended, 31 percentFrom top: Mary Poole ’59, Sue BrownMunson ’59, and Caroline Craven Nielsen ’59;Yvonne Davis ’04, Lily Varon ’04, AcademicDean John Drew, Director of Health andWellness Jeff Desjarlais, and ChantelleWilliams ’04. Above right: Nancy Read Coville’49, accepting the Joan Shaw Herman Awardfor Distinguished Service from Katy ReaSchmitt ’62.Concord Academy presented its onlyaward, the Joan Shaw HermanAward for Distinguished Service,to Nancy Read Coville ’49 during ReunionWeekend, in recognition of the decadesCoville has devoted to providing qualityearly education and child care to the childrenof Tamworth, New Hampshire.Coincidentally, Coville roomed withJoan Shaw Herman at CA, and called her“a wonderful roommate.” Apparently, thefeeling was mutual. When Katy ReaSchmitt ’62 introduced this year’s awardwinner, she mentioned something thatCynthia Heath Sunderland ’51 had told her:“Joan Shaw Herman once said, ‘I wouldlove to have a sister like Nancy.’”Coville began helping Tamworth kids inthe 1960s, when she started a summerenrichment program, which remains activetoday through the town’s recreation department.A few years later, she began theBearcamp Valley School and ChildcareCenter, which continues to run innovativeand affordable programs for children, manyof whom would be without preschool if notfor Coville. “Fifty-five percent of the childrenare eligible for free or reduced meals,”Coville said. “I’m continually amazed bythe resilience of the children, but some ofthem need to be scooped up to get, or toregain, a positive self-image.”Bearcamp is the only licensed child carecenter in Tamworth. Schmitt called Coville“its administrator, its fundraiser, and itsheart and soul.” The center receives townfunding but needs to raise an additional$80,000 privately each year.Coville took an untraditional route intoeducation; she completed her degree atthe University of New Hampshire twentysevenyears after leaving Radcliffe. Arecognized early-childhood expert andadvocate, she criticized overly academicpreschools and kindergarten programs thatwon’t let children explore until their “work”is done. “Discovery and thinking shouldbe their work,” she said. She summedup her philosophy by quoting one of hercenter’s mottos: “Every moment is alearning moment. Not every moment is ateaching moment.”Coville addressed classmates, friends,and her large, extended family in the ElizabethB. Hall Chapel. She closed with anEleanor Roosevelt quote that begins,“Where, after all, do universal human rightsbegin? In small places, close to home, soclose and so small that they cannot be seenon any map of the world . . .”Coville has made a difference closeto home. Through her efforts, human rightshave begun in the hearts of the smallchildren she nurtures.39W W W . C O N C O R D A C A D E M Y. O R G F A L L 2 0 0 9