Muriel Bouley
What is more important than teaching a child to read? Perhaps building a child's self-esteem. Muriel Bouley specialized in both those endeavors. As an elementary teacher in several schools and grades, as well as a reading specialist, she taught hundreds of Branford youngsters to read ·and gave countless children the confidence that led them to positive learning experiences in many areas.
A 1945 graduate of Pembroke College of Brown University with a degree in psychology, Muriel returned to college to earn a teaching certificate after about ten years at home caring for her four children. In 1957, she began teaching in Warwick, Rhode Island, in a combined first/second grade, then in a second/third combination. In 1960, Muriel and her husband, Tom, moved their family to Branford, where both had been offered teaching positions.
Muriel's first assignment in Branford was second grade at the Laurel Street School, moving to Damascus School when it opened in the middle of the year and later taught both second and third grades there. After that she taught first grade, then second grade, at Indian Neck. After receiving a master's degree in reading from Southern Connecticut State College in 1969 (the same year her husband received his master's, her oldest child graduated from college, and another child graduated from BHSI), Muriel became a reading specialist, first at Pine Orchard, then as a member of the staff of the new Branford Intermediate School. After three years as a reading specialist, Muriel returned to her first love-the classroom-and taught language arts and social studies at the intermediate school on a fifth-grade team.
Flexible and versatile, Muriel worked well as an individual and on a team. As a reading specialist, she taught in many different spaces, from classrooms to closets; and at the intermediate school, she learned to teach in a school without walls. In addition to her expertise in teaching reading, Muriel loved social studies and enjoyed planning projects with her students. Known for her patience, she was especially dedicated to those who needed extra attention and assistance. She also supported her colleagues; and during challenging contract discussions in the 1970s, Muriel served on a teachers' panel, receiving much positive feedback for the charts she created to intelligently explain the situation to the community. After retiring in 1985, Muriel and her husband now live in Storrs for half the year, and in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in the winter months.
Outside of school, Muriel was active at Trinity Church, and she and her husband enjoyed square dancing with the Seaside Swingers. In her retirement, Muriel joined the Branford Garden Club and received many awards for her floral arrangements. She is also an excellent seamstress and, in recent years, has sewn beautiful quilts for each of her three great-grandchildren. For many years, Muriel was an active member of the honorary women's educational sorority, Delta Kappa Gamma; and with her husband, she remains active in the Branford Retired Teachers Association.
Muriel and her husband are the parents of Margaret Voss, an educator in Marblehead, Massachusetts; Robert, who worked in finance and accounting with United Illuminating Company until his death in 1998; Paul, who works for the U.S. government at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and Meredith Hoag, an accomplished equestrian from Storrs, Connecticut. They have ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Unassuming and unpretentious, Muriel Bouley never called attention to herself or sought the spotlight. She is much more apt to recognize others' accomplishments than to acknowledge her own. She managed the combination of home and career with subtle grace; and many students and parents gratefully remembers her successes in teaching. A wonderful teacher, a wonderful mother, and a wonderful person, she has educated so many of Branford’s children-including her own-by providing a model of how to live a balanced life founded on secure values.
A 1945 graduate of Pembroke College of Brown University with a degree in psychology, Muriel returned to college to earn a teaching certificate after about ten years at home caring for her four children. In 1957, she began teaching in Warwick, Rhode Island, in a combined first/second grade, then in a second/third combination. In 1960, Muriel and her husband, Tom, moved their family to Branford, where both had been offered teaching positions.
Muriel's first assignment in Branford was second grade at the Laurel Street School, moving to Damascus School when it opened in the middle of the year and later taught both second and third grades there. After that she taught first grade, then second grade, at Indian Neck. After receiving a master's degree in reading from Southern Connecticut State College in 1969 (the same year her husband received his master's, her oldest child graduated from college, and another child graduated from BHSI), Muriel became a reading specialist, first at Pine Orchard, then as a member of the staff of the new Branford Intermediate School. After three years as a reading specialist, Muriel returned to her first love-the classroom-and taught language arts and social studies at the intermediate school on a fifth-grade team.
Flexible and versatile, Muriel worked well as an individual and on a team. As a reading specialist, she taught in many different spaces, from classrooms to closets; and at the intermediate school, she learned to teach in a school without walls. In addition to her expertise in teaching reading, Muriel loved social studies and enjoyed planning projects with her students. Known for her patience, she was especially dedicated to those who needed extra attention and assistance. She also supported her colleagues; and during challenging contract discussions in the 1970s, Muriel served on a teachers' panel, receiving much positive feedback for the charts she created to intelligently explain the situation to the community. After retiring in 1985, Muriel and her husband now live in Storrs for half the year, and in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in the winter months.
Outside of school, Muriel was active at Trinity Church, and she and her husband enjoyed square dancing with the Seaside Swingers. In her retirement, Muriel joined the Branford Garden Club and received many awards for her floral arrangements. She is also an excellent seamstress and, in recent years, has sewn beautiful quilts for each of her three great-grandchildren. For many years, Muriel was an active member of the honorary women's educational sorority, Delta Kappa Gamma; and with her husband, she remains active in the Branford Retired Teachers Association.
Muriel and her husband are the parents of Margaret Voss, an educator in Marblehead, Massachusetts; Robert, who worked in finance and accounting with United Illuminating Company until his death in 1998; Paul, who works for the U.S. government at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and Meredith Hoag, an accomplished equestrian from Storrs, Connecticut. They have ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Unassuming and unpretentious, Muriel Bouley never called attention to herself or sought the spotlight. She is much more apt to recognize others' accomplishments than to acknowledge her own. She managed the combination of home and career with subtle grace; and many students and parents gratefully remembers her successes in teaching. A wonderful teacher, a wonderful mother, and a wonderful person, she has educated so many of Branford’s children-including her own-by providing a model of how to live a balanced life founded on secure values.