ITEM FILE PHOTO
Washington STEM Elementary School principal John Licorish holds one of the newspapers found in the time capsule that was buried at the school in 1915, which was displayed at the assembly celebrating 100 years of the school.
The Washington STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Elementary School’s website still displays Principal John Licorish’s picture.
But the former Boston educator will resign this month after a four-year tenure.
With his strong math background, Licorish presided over a school with a mandate to introduce students to disciplines that increasingly define modern education and the 21st century workforce.
Licorish worked quietly and deliberately to put Washington’s mission into practice. He partnered with General Electric Co. engineers to convert part of the school’s basement into a laboratory. Washington teachers hung a mirror next to the lab’s doorway and urged their students to imagine their future as a scientist, engineer or inventor.
Licorish defined Washington’s mission as cultivating “a community of lifelong learners.” He leaves the school knowing its graduates are bringing their STEM skills to middle schools.
Licorish’s successor has the opportunity to build on his achievements and broaden the school’s mission. The Blossom Street school’s partnership with GE should be extended citywide to North Shore Community College (NSCC). STEM students studying on NSCC’s Lynn campus could be potential teaching assistants and tutors to Washington students.
With its new addition under construction, NSCC is poised to make its presence felt in a bigger way in Lynn. The program expansion accompanying the addition’s construction provides opportunities for college leaders to make good on a commitment to expand relationships with Lynn institutions.
Washington STEM is a perfect place for this expansion to start and the school’s new principal will be positioned to develop a relationship with the college. Licorish’s successor also has the opportunity to redefine the school’s relationship with other the city’s public schools.
With Washington graduates making their mark in middle schools, opportunities for shared study programs or tutoring arrangements should be explored between Washington and other elementary schools and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute.
The most important task Washington’s new principal faces is to assess how the school has progressed in four years and to determine how to build on that progression.
