2026-10-06 - School Building Naming Subcommittee

00:13Good evening and welcome to the building

00:15naming subcommittee meeting. Today is

00:18Tuesday, October 6th, 2026 and the time

00:21is 6 pm. I would like to um call the

00:25meeting to order and establish a quorum.

00:28Miss Cinteo

00:29>> here,

00:30>> Mr. Gomes

00:31>> here,

00:32>> and um myself uh I am present as chair.

00:35In addition to that, I'd like to um

00:37mention in addition to attending the

00:39public can view this meeting via

00:41television on Comcast channel 8 and 1071

00:45HD version and online via this link

00:47www.youtube.com

00:50uh backtherockton channels. Um, so now

00:54that we've established the quorum, I'd

00:55like to um welcome Superintendent D to

00:58Hilian is here and I'd like to welcome

01:01uh councelor W7 um Shirley Asac and um

01:05Nancy Tucker who is a BPS employee. Um

01:09they're going to be presenting on behalf

01:12of the um request that came before us.

01:16So today we're going to discuss and

01:19we're going to have a potential vote on

01:20the naming of the Brockton High School

01:22entrance to Dr. Claire Appan Way. Um

01:26councelor Azac if you can um start your

01:29presentation.

01:30>> Thank you. First of all I would like to

01:32um thank Brockton Public Schools

01:34building naming subcommittee for putting

01:37us on your agenda. So thank you very

01:38much. We really appreciate it. A couple

01:41of years ago, I was approached by some

01:43members in the community, uh, Amber

01:45Bogard, Mar uh, Margaret Shepard, Amy

01:48Cororum, Janet Tras, Lucia Shannon, and

01:52attorney Jim Burke to really to do

01:54something to honor Dr. Claire Appling

01:56because she was just um, an amazing

01:59person and a real trail blazer here in

02:02Brockton. So, um, as you mentioned,

02:04chair, uh, chairwoman, that we are

02:07requesting that, uh, we name Memorial

02:09Drive, which is the entrance from, uh,

02:11Forest Avenue into Brockton High School.

02:14We're requesting that we, um, dedicate

02:16that in memory and honor and in honor of

02:19Dr. Claire M. Appling. So, thank you. My

02:22friend here next to me, Nancy Tucker,

02:24has prepared uh, you know, uh, to talk a

02:27little bit more about Dr. appling and

02:29really about what she did and how um the

02:33amazing life that she led. So um Nancy

02:38here belongs to Alpha Delta Kappa which

02:40is an international honorary sorority

02:44for female educators and there is a

02:45chapter here in Brockton and I believe

02:47Dr. Appling was part of that. So I will

02:50leave it to Nancy to take over and speak

02:52about Dr. Appling. Thank you.

02:54>> Thank you. Thank you uh Miss Tucker. Um,

02:56good evening chair and members of the

02:58subcommittee and the greater Brockton

03:00community. For those who knew Dr.

03:02Appling, it is difficult to capture the

03:04breadth of her impact in just a few

03:06minutes. Her service to the Brockton

03:08public school spanned an extraordinary

03:0952 years.

03:12She began her career at West Junior High

03:14School in 1954 and moved to Brockton

03:17High School in 1962 and served the

03:19district in numerous roles including

03:21educator, director of health education,

03:24housemaster and principal. And from 1974

03:28to 1999, she was the first and only

03:32serving woman serving in leadership at

03:35Brockton High School.

03:40But Dr. Appling's legacy cannot be

03:42measured simply by the positions that

03:44she held or the number of years that she

03:46served. Her legacy can be found in the

03:48people that she helped. Long before many

03:51knew her as an administrator, Clare was

03:53opening her home to neighborhood

03:54children, creating free summer camps

03:56filled with activities and giving piano

03:58lessons without asking for a single

04:00thing in return. At Christmas, she

04:03created a wonderland for neighborhood

04:05families complete with Christmas

04:06villages, trains, hot chocolate, and

04:08cookies. a tradition that continued even

04:10when she moved to a different

04:12neighborhood. That same generosity

04:14followed her to Brockton High School.

04:16Even as principal, she made time to

04:18visit special education classrooms, talk

04:20with students, and read stories to them.

04:22She advocated relentlessly for Brockton,

04:25contacting state representatives and

04:27senators in pursuit of legislation,

04:29school funding, expanded opportunities

04:31for students in areas like geography,

04:34history, and civics. Her service did not

04:37end at our schoolhouse doors. Dr.

04:39Appling volunteered throughout the

04:41community. She became a certified EMT

04:43and rode the city ambulance because, in

04:46her simple words, she wanted to lend a

04:48helping hand. She lent so many helping

04:51hands that it led her to being honored

04:52as a recipient of the James Edgar

04:54Community Service Award. Those words may

04:57be one of the best descriptions of her

04:59life. She lent a helping hand to

05:01children, to educators, to families, to

05:04the schools, and to the city of

05:06Brockton.

05:07Dr. Appling was also deeply connected to

05:09Alpha Delta Kappa. And later in her

05:11career, she encouraged outstanding

05:12educators to consider membership in our

05:14organization, recognizing other women

05:17who qualified who exemplify the

05:20qualities of leadership, service, and

05:21dedication. Many of those educators

05:24accepted that invitation and became

05:25members and many of them worked with her

05:28for her or were taught by her.

05:32Her leadership was particularly

05:33meaningful at the time when women were

05:35still fighting for opportunities in

05:36educational administration. Dr. Appling

05:39would attend national conferences with

05:41where she represented not only Brockton

05:43but female administrators during the

05:45early years of title nine. Perhaps the

05:48most remarkable thing about Dr.

05:50grappling that she was someone capable

05:51of leading high school and representing

05:54educators nationally, but she was just

05:55as comfortable working with a tiny group

05:57of little first graders. When the

06:00children from the Kennedy School walked

06:01to Broxton High School for an end of

06:03year field trip, Dr. Aptton personally

06:05gives them tours and sat them down and

06:07taught them origami. She loved them and

06:10they loved her. That tells us something

06:12important about the kind of educator she

06:14was. Dr. Cla Appling understood that

06:16education is ultimately about people. It

06:19is about seeing potential in a child.

06:21It's about opening doors for others,

06:23serving a community even when no one is

06:25keeping track of the hours. And it is

06:28about leaving a place better than what

06:30you found it. Naming the street that

06:32leads into the school for Dr. Clare

06:33Appling would therefore be especially

06:35fitting. Every day, students would

06:37travel a road bearing the name of a

06:38woman who devoted more than half of a

06:40century of service to the school system.

06:42New teachers would encounter her name.

06:44Families would encounter her name. And

06:46generations of students who never had

06:48the privilege of knowing her would have

06:49an opportunity to ask, "Who was Claire

06:52Appling?" And Brockton would have quite

06:54a story to tell. We could tell them she

06:56was an educator, an administrator, a

06:59mentor, an advocate, a volunteer, a

07:01community leader, and a proud member of

07:03Alpha Delta Kappa. We could tell them

07:05that she helped open doors for women in

07:07educational leadership. We could tell

07:09them that whether she was leading

07:10Brockton High School, advocating for

07:12better educational opportunities,

07:13teaching a child origami, volunteering

07:16in the community, or encouraging another

07:18woman education educator to pursue

07:20leadership she gave freely of herself in

07:22service to others. She made Brockton an

07:25especially special place. It is

07:27difficult to imagine a more appropriate

07:29legacy to honor. So on behalf of Alpha

07:32Delta Kappa, I respectfully offer our

07:34strong support for the motion to name

07:36the street entering Brockton High School

07:38in honor of Dr. Claire Appling. For

07:40decades, Dr. Appling helped lead the way

07:42for the students, and it would be

07:44wonderfully fitting for her name to now

07:45quite literally mark that way into

07:48Brockton High School for generations to

07:49come.

07:56>> Thank you so much, um, Miss Tucker. So,

07:59um, this is a little different. So, to

08:01do hearing of visitors, um, we don't

08:04really do hearing of visitors, but if

08:05anyone would like to come up, say a few

08:08words. We do have time. It's a little

08:09after 6. It's the only item on the

08:11agenda. Anyone that would like to get up

08:12and say a few words about Dr. Appling

08:14for those that don't don't know her or

08:16or hadn't worked with her or um, just so

08:19they know why we're all here. We have so

08:21many amazing educators and and role

08:24models that have come through Brockton

08:26public schools and this is a way that we

08:28can honor. There's many of them that

08:30we're going to, you know, down the road

08:32we'll be able to do, but right now we're

08:33talking about Dr. Appan this evening. Uh

08:36thank you all for listening to our play

08:39to you tonight. Um all of us who are

08:41here have a strong affection for the

08:44late Dr. Appling. Um mine was not in the

08:47professional manner that these ladies

08:49were. My uh connection to Dr. Appling

08:52was of course I knew who she was. Our

08:54three children all went to Brockton High

08:57and she was a legacy at her in her time.

09:00So I knew of Dr. Appling, but I actually

09:02got to meet her at the Y in Stoton. She

09:05was in the woman's locker room, the spa

09:07where I was. And at one point she had

09:10fractured her foot and the director of

09:13the Y had asked me if I could help get

09:15her to PT at the Y which my husband and

09:18I did do that for a few months and as a

09:22result we got to know Dr. Appling

09:24personally and discovered what an

09:27amazing amazing woman she is or was um

09:31her love for humanity and teaching

09:34everyone. I learned how as a child she

09:38used to have summer camp in her backyard

09:41with the little kids when she herself

09:43wasn't much older than them. Um she knew

09:46she wanted to be a teacher from a very

09:48early age. Uh she went to Bridgewater

09:52State for her undergrad and then her

09:55masters and um as it was stated she

09:58taught first at West Junior High and

10:00then at the high school. But I was

10:02always amazed that she was the first

10:04female administrator in this huge

10:07system. And when she went to from West

10:11down to the old high school, she would

10:13see the men in the position of power and

10:17she would look around and say, "I can do

10:20that and probably better than them." And

10:23she was right.

10:26And it was it was so fitting that she

10:28was named the the housemaster as the

10:31term was then um when this school was

10:34opened and then she was the first female

10:37administrator to get her doctorate in

10:39education. So she was really a

10:42trailblazer educating everyone. She used

10:45to volunteer um in addition to

10:47everything else she did. She would

10:49volunteer at the summer camp at the Y

10:52teaching origami.

10:54She would do some origami at the senior

10:56center and share her talents. She was

10:59just an amazing, loving, giving, caring

11:02person who wanted to make the world a

11:04better place. And I think she did. And

11:07for that reason, I feel it's such a we

11:11we just really need to honor her and her

11:13legacy because we can't let her be

11:16forgotten. Thank you.

11:22>> Thank you. My name is Kathy Larabby. I'm

11:25the current president of Alpha Delta

11:27Kappa MU chapter and I spent my whole

11:31career at West Middle School. Well,

11:34junior high and then middle school. And

11:38I didn't know Dr. Appling all that well,

11:41but I knew her. I was telling

11:44superintendent that she was a very small

11:48woman

11:49but she had her connections to West and

11:53we used to have our meetings at West. We

11:57met in the middle school in the uh music

11:59room and we used to come in the back

12:01door but certain teachers certain

12:04members like to come in the front door

12:06and Dr. Grappling always came in the

12:09front door and I would always let the

12:12front office know it was meeting day and

12:15our administrators, our principles knew

12:20because Dr. Appling would always stop

12:23and whether it was Dr. Murray

12:27or

12:29now

12:33thank you brain. I've been delivering

12:36all day. Carlton Campbell,

12:38you knew

12:40when she was coming because they stood

12:44up a little straighter. And if she

12:46walked in and she said, the one I

12:51remember, she said to Dr. Murray, "That

12:54railing needs to be painted." Yes,

12:57ma'am. That was the answer. And she may

13:01have stood this tall. And I don't know

13:04how many of you know Carlton Campbell,

13:06but he is not a small man.

13:10The answer, yes, ma'am, was still

13:12whatever he was told had to be done.

13:17The respect was there and they knew. She

13:22may not have been in charge, but she was

13:25in charge

13:27always.

13:31One more speaker.

13:33>> Most of the things that I was going to

13:35say are in the um the narrative that uh

13:38Nancy Tucker gave, but I am speaking not

13:42only of a as a 40-year Brockton teacher,

13:45retired, but as a neighbor of Dr. Claire

13:48Rapling. I was the recipient and my

13:51brothers and sisters of her summer after

13:55after school and summer groups that she

13:58was uh teaching. She gave all of my

14:01brothers and sisters piano lessons. I

14:04was a hopeless case.

14:07I wasn't able to follow the directions

14:10that she wanted me to. And she was a

14:13wonderful woman. And you've you've heard

14:14all of the wonderful things she did. And

14:16I happen to know of many more things

14:18that were listed here that she

14:20volunteered for for the betterment of

14:23the schools, the children, but most of

14:25all for the city of Brackton.

14:29We called her the little general.

14:32>> Yep.

14:33>> In the neighborhood. The parents did. We

14:35did. And I'm going to tell her now the

14:39pain in the neck. Miss Appling, Dr.

14:42Appling. She was to the city councilors

14:45of Brackton, the mayor of Brackton, the

14:48state representatives, the school

14:49committee members, the state senators,

14:52and then to the ambassador of Ireland

14:55when she would call them at all times

14:58for the betterment of Brockton and tell

15:01them how to put back the geography that

15:04was way more important than this or

15:06that. put back the civics and make sure

15:09you teach the children the way you used

15:11to teach. She was at Beacon Hill

15:16Adnauseium, I would say. I'm trying to

15:20be nice because when she called them,

15:24they knew they were going to get a list

15:26of things that they were supposed to put

15:28in as a bill, vote in, send to

15:31conference committee, and make sure it

15:34happened. And that was all for the

15:36betterment of Brockton, which then was

15:39the betterment of the schools. And

15:42that's all I have to say.

15:43>> Can you just um Thank you. Can you just

15:46state your name?

15:47>> My name is Jerry Osborne and I was

15:50Brockton's school kid, Brockton teacher

15:53and neighbor of Claire Applings.

15:55>> Thank you.

15:55>> All right. Good evening. My name is

15:57Laura Cherro. I'm a French and Spanish

15:59teacher here at the high school. I've

16:01been here for 20 years. And my

16:03encounter, my first encounter with Dr.

16:05Cla Applin was when I was one of those

16:08young immigrants who just came from

16:10Albania in the year 1995.

16:12And I was at the Kennedy School and I

16:15remember directly there was a call. We

16:17have this girl from Albania with her

16:19family here. Dr. Appling, can you get

16:21here? And Dr. Applin, this little woman

16:24like everyone said, she comes there and

16:26she was the first person that I along

16:29with my family, we met. And I remember

16:31she took us in her car. We came to

16:32Brockton High School. She gave us the

16:35whole tour. And so she really helped me

16:37at the Kennedy School when I was there

16:39as uh learning ESL. I was in the ESL

16:42classes learning English. And uh she

16:45also helped my mother actually get a job

16:48and become a teacher here in Brockton

16:49High School. My mom taught here for 14

16:51years. And part of that was thanks to

16:54Dr. Appan. Along with Dr. Appling, one

16:57of her best and dearest friends was also

17:00one of our former sisters who recently

17:02just passed away. Uh Georgia Tasho and

17:05Georgia Tasho and Claire Applin were

17:07very good friends. So I remember because

17:09Georgia Tasho was a very dear friend of

17:12mine, almost like a second grandmother

17:14to me. So every Christmas uh Dr. Claire

17:17Appan would invite us to her house. She

17:19would be playing the piano. She would

17:21have all the cookies, all the Christmas

17:23decors, do origami. It was unbelievable.

17:26So I really loved that experience as a

17:29child. Now fast forward many many many

17:31years after uh in the year 2021

17:35I released uh my book called

17:37Humanitarian Woman, my personal

17:39encounters with Mother Teresa and how

17:42she changed my life forever. Uh many of

17:44you that know me, you know that uh I

17:46wrote that book because I had the

17:48unbelievable experience of having a

17:51private meeting and blessing with Mother

17:52Teresa. And when Dr. Applin heard about

17:56the book, not only did she buy, I don't

17:59know, like a gazillion copies of the

18:01book, but she bought one for every

18:03single person, starting with the mayor,

18:06the superintendent, all the principles

18:08of every school. And she said, "They

18:10need to know the story. They need to

18:11know the story about the little girl

18:13from Albania who came, who I helped, and

18:16now you have done all of this." I

18:17remember she would contact all the cable

18:19companies and and we did something

18:21together uh many years ago and so it was

18:25Dr. Appan constantly on the phone. She

18:27was my biggest cheerleader but not just

18:30for me but because she was so so proud

18:33that I was from Brockton and doing all

18:35these things in Brockton. And literally

18:38in the last year or so of her life, I

18:41would be at her house almost constantly

18:42because she would call me, Laura, I want

18:44to introduce you with these people.

18:46could you talk with these people? She

18:48really had such a positive energy

18:51surrounding her. In my book, I describe

18:54Mother Teresa as this woman who just

18:56radiated positivity and she was the

18:59humanitarian. And to me, a second figure

19:02like that, especially for Brockton, was

19:05Dr. Cla Applin. So, this would really be

19:07an honor to actually honor her with this

19:10gift.

19:11>> Thank you.

19:14>> Thank you.

19:16Thank you everyone. Um so

19:20I class of 1991 I had the pleasure of

19:24seeing Dr. Appan um and listening to the

19:30other side of Dr. Appling and all the

19:34great stuff that she did because I just

19:36remember for years many of us and and

19:38it's funny because if if you went to

19:40Brockton High School while she was here

19:42everyone's like Dr. Appling do you

19:43remember Dr. Appling? So, everybody's

19:46got a story. Everyone everyone, you

19:48know, has a story about her from, you

19:49know, bringing out the ruler, measuring

19:52the skirts, little things like that.

19:54But, you know, she she did have a

19:56presence. She had an amazing presence.

19:59Um, and she just, you know, I do

20:02appreciate everyone just coming up and

20:03talking about her. Um

20:08but seeing a side of her as a school

20:10committee member a few years back I

20:13remember I was attending it was the

20:14superintendence awards I believe uh for

20:17the seniors and we were in one of the um

20:20IRC's in the library and she just sat

20:23next to me and that's when I saw the

20:25other side of Dr. Abling and she just

20:27was so excited and so I am so thankful

20:30they invited me. This is so nice of

20:32them. I'm going she was so she

20:35appreciated the invitation and that they

20:37kept her involved more than anything.

20:40And that's when I saw the soft side of

20:43Dr. Appling. Uh not the class of 1991

20:46student, but I saw a different side of

20:48her. And that's when I started looking

20:49at her different like she's like the

20:51sweetest thing. And just hearing about

20:53all these these things that she was

20:55doing out of her home and for the

20:57neighborhood and for the kids. Um that

20:59says a lot. and she she did leave an

21:01amazing legacy behind. Um so the only

21:05thing is is um councelor you can correct

21:08me if I'm wrong but I don't believe we

21:09can rename the street but we can

21:12dedicate make a recommendation to

21:15dedicate I believe it's memorial drive.

21:17>> It is it's corre that's correct.

21:18>> So we can make a dedication to put an

21:21honorary plaque with her name there. I

21:24don't think we can actually change the

21:26name of the street. So

21:27>> we're not looking to change the name.

21:29We're just looking to dedicate it. So,

21:31as we've done in other parts of the

21:33city, we just put a plaque on top of the

21:36um street name and it'll be just in

21:38honor of Dr. Claire.

21:40>> So, an honor an an honorary plaque. So,

21:45do the members have any questions for

21:46anyone that presented? Uh Mr. Gomes,

21:49>> not really not really a question. Well,

21:52first of all, thank you uh counselor for

21:53being here, Miss Tucker. Uh and thank

21:56you to each and every single one of you.

21:58Um I don't know if you guys know I'm the

22:00youngest member

22:03in this committee. Uh I don't believe I

22:05had the pleasure of meeting uh Dr. Cap

22:08Applan. Um however there's this saying

22:11that our stories lives on through the

22:16lives of those that we touch and hearing

22:19from each and every single one of you

22:20here today has told the story of who and

22:24what uh Dr. Appan has done. Um, I I wish

22:29I had the opportunity to live during

22:31that time and experience some of those

22:33things. Unfortunately, that is not the

22:36case. But I appreciate you guys being

22:38here telling the stories. And that's why

22:40we have people that leave behind great

22:42legacies and work and accomplishments

22:46that not only wasn't only for

22:48themselves, but for the well-being and

22:50the goodness of all of us. Um, and I

22:54don't know if my member has anything to

22:56add to this before I make a motion to uh

22:59approve this.

23:00>> Okay. Hello everybody and thank you.

23:03Clearly, she was loved and supported by

23:05all you guys for you guys to be here and

23:07to continue to speak very highly of her.

23:10So, for me as a woman, when I hear about

23:12any other woman, specifically when we

23:15said she was the first in leadership

23:18role, especially here in Brockton, that

23:19means a lot. I'm sure it's because of

23:22her that I'm here today or that we

23:25continue to see women in leadership

23:28roles within our school. So for me, it's

23:30a easy um vote is going to be yes. Let's

23:34do it and let's do it now. So thank you.

23:38Thank you.

23:41So um we're we're in the subcommittee.

23:45we will need to u make a recommendation

23:48to um so have a motion to um request

23:52that oh I apologize superintendent did

23:54you have any word okay um so uh motion

23:58to make a recommendation to the

23:59committee of a whole to um have a plaque

24:03installed um where Memorial Drive is and

24:06the plaque will be uh the Dr. Claire M.

24:09Appling Way. Um,

24:12and that way because that way we don't

24:13run into any technicality. We're not

24:15changing the name of the street, but

24:16we're just going to put a memorial

24:17plaque there and observe it. And

24:19hopefully we can do this before the end

24:20of the year. Um, but if we can get a

24:23motion to move it to the committee of a

24:24whole

24:25>> for for later this evening so we can

24:27vote on it at the committee.

24:28>> I'd like to make a motion to recommend

24:30favorably to the regular school

24:32committee meeting. Um, so you don't want

24:35me to say naming of BHS entrance to Dr.

24:38Claire Appan Way

24:40>> where Memorial Drive is?

24:42>> Where Memorial Drive is? Yes.

24:43>> Perfect. And can I have a second?

24:45>> Second.

24:46>> Thank you. So, a motion was made by Mr.

24:48Gomes and properly seconded by Miss

24:50Santeo. Um, all in favor, show of hands.

24:53And that that's unanimous. Thank you.

24:55Um,

24:56>> thank you. Uh, council Oh, councelor

24:58Azac. Sure. So, I would just like to

25:01thank everybody that's here this

25:02evening. Um, you know, the members that

25:04wanted to bring this forward as well as

25:07the u members of the um honorary

25:09sorority. So, thank you. Um, I know she

25:12would have loved this. Um, and I also

25:14would like to thank Mayor Rodriguez,

25:16Moses Rodriguez, because this has been

25:18in the planning for a few years and for

25:20some reason it got set back, but he

25:22helped us push it forward a little

25:24quicker. So, thank you.

25:25>> Thank you. Thank you for acknowledging

25:26that. um because it was on a previous

25:30agenda, but I just felt like we needed

25:31to talk a little bit about Dr. Abling

25:34and invite those that knew her um to

25:37really just acknowledge why it's

25:38important sometimes to know the person

25:41that we're actually looking to make this

25:43request for. So, um and that's why

25:46tonight was important. So, again, thank

25:48you so much. Thank you, Miss Tucker. Um

25:50thank you, Councelor Aac. Um so,

25:53>> can let everybody know when the date is.

25:55So for the unveiling of the plaque and

25:57we'll have another celebration.

25:58>> I think we'll we'll definitely do that

25:59once once it's um goes to the committee

26:01this evening and if it's approved

26:03favorably then um we will move forward

26:06to get this done before the end of the

26:07year. Uh just so we can finally get this

26:09done. But things do take a little time

26:11but hopefully it won't take time and we

26:12will get it done this year. So thank you

26:14everyone.

26:15>> You thank you.

26:19>> Um next item is other business. Do we

26:22have any other business? Okay. Um and I

26:26guess that's it for this evening. So I

26:28am going to um get a motion to adjurnn.

26:30>> Motion to adjurnn.

26:32>> Second.

26:32>> Second.

26:33>> So a motion's been made by Mr. Gomes,

26:35properly seconded by Miss Santeo. All in

26:37favor show hands. And that's unanimous.

26:40Thank you everyone. Have a good evening.