Mary Resjan Tisko
It all began in the little backyard school her father built for her and her dolls-her first "students." Mary Resjan Tisko, born in 1908, was not only a Branford native but also a born teacher. After graduating from Branford High School in 1926, she went on to graduate from the New Haven State Normal School in 1928 and received her B.S. degree in education from Southern Connecticut State College in 1955. In an era without electricity, drinking fountains (let alone paper cups!), or indoor lavatories, Mary Tisko began teaching in earnest with her first assignment in the two-room Saltonstall School with three grades in each room. Mary taught grades 4, 5, and 6. The part-time janitor saw to it that the large water jars were filled each day, and the children brought their own drinking glasses from home. From Saltonstall, Mary moved on to the old Indian Neck School-also a two-room school but with a drinking fountain. (Lavatories, however, were still outside!) Then it was on to Center School-a six-room building in which Mary taught third grade.
In 1938 Mary moved to Laurel Street, which had previously been both a senior and junior high school. In June 1953, the sixth grades of Branford were moved into the Junior High School on Eades Street, and Mary was appointed teaching principal there for one year. A year later, she was back at Laurel Street as teaching principal.
However, 1960 was the big move-when Mary moved back to the junior high school to await the completion of Damascus School. This facility, which now bears her name and has been expanded significantly, was a far cry from her Saltonstall experience. It then consisted of nine classrooms, a transportation office, principal's office, conference room/library, and a medical room shared by the resource teacher and the school nurse.
In fifty-four years, Mary Tisko never missed a day of school because of illness. "I don't get sick. Maybe it's because I enjoy life so much. And I'm much too busy," she quipped in a 1982 interview. A model of dedication and devotion to her students, she also served as a mentor to many beginning teachers. One such beneficiary of her experience recalls leaving school at 5:00 p.m. each night during her first year of teaching only to find that Mary was still in her classroom working. Being heard at this hour always carried with it the risk-and the reward---of being invited into her room for a chat about the day. Mary Tisko ran a tight ship. Window shades were to be drawn halfway at the end of the day. Each Friday the children had to clean out their desks and move all furniture away from the wall so the custodian could vacuum. At least one student is reported to have gone home and remarked to his mother, "Gee, Mom, you think you're clean; you should see my teacher!"
"Queen Mary," as she was sometimes affectionately called, was revered in her lifetime as the grande dame of education. In 1979 she was named Branford Woman of the Year by the Branford Woman's Club, and her then fifty years of service was acknowledged in 1978 by proclaiming May 31 Mary Tisko Day. The following year saw her honored as the Branford Review Citizen of the Year.
An indefatigable teacher with a fifty-five-year career, Mary Tisko saw a wide span and evolution of educational methods and facilities and held an equally varied range of positions from teaching three grades in a two-room school to teacher-administrator of Damascus School to principal of Sliney School and principal emeritus of all the elementary schools in Branford. She was and is beloved by her former students and colleagues and the many teachers she influenced and mentored. Today, eighteen years after her death, the shades at Sliney School are usually down halfway as teachers pass on her legacy of neatness and appropriateness. Likewise her love of teaching and of children will live on in the thousands whose hearts and minds she touched.
In 1938 Mary moved to Laurel Street, which had previously been both a senior and junior high school. In June 1953, the sixth grades of Branford were moved into the Junior High School on Eades Street, and Mary was appointed teaching principal there for one year. A year later, she was back at Laurel Street as teaching principal.
However, 1960 was the big move-when Mary moved back to the junior high school to await the completion of Damascus School. This facility, which now bears her name and has been expanded significantly, was a far cry from her Saltonstall experience. It then consisted of nine classrooms, a transportation office, principal's office, conference room/library, and a medical room shared by the resource teacher and the school nurse.
In fifty-four years, Mary Tisko never missed a day of school because of illness. "I don't get sick. Maybe it's because I enjoy life so much. And I'm much too busy," she quipped in a 1982 interview. A model of dedication and devotion to her students, she also served as a mentor to many beginning teachers. One such beneficiary of her experience recalls leaving school at 5:00 p.m. each night during her first year of teaching only to find that Mary was still in her classroom working. Being heard at this hour always carried with it the risk-and the reward---of being invited into her room for a chat about the day. Mary Tisko ran a tight ship. Window shades were to be drawn halfway at the end of the day. Each Friday the children had to clean out their desks and move all furniture away from the wall so the custodian could vacuum. At least one student is reported to have gone home and remarked to his mother, "Gee, Mom, you think you're clean; you should see my teacher!"
"Queen Mary," as she was sometimes affectionately called, was revered in her lifetime as the grande dame of education. In 1979 she was named Branford Woman of the Year by the Branford Woman's Club, and her then fifty years of service was acknowledged in 1978 by proclaiming May 31 Mary Tisko Day. The following year saw her honored as the Branford Review Citizen of the Year.
An indefatigable teacher with a fifty-five-year career, Mary Tisko saw a wide span and evolution of educational methods and facilities and held an equally varied range of positions from teaching three grades in a two-room school to teacher-administrator of Damascus School to principal of Sliney School and principal emeritus of all the elementary schools in Branford. She was and is beloved by her former students and colleagues and the many teachers she influenced and mentored. Today, eighteen years after her death, the shades at Sliney School are usually down halfway as teachers pass on her legacy of neatness and appropriateness. Likewise her love of teaching and of children will live on in the thousands whose hearts and minds she touched.