Landmark Stories

Five years ago, in this exact spot, we met to reflect on her impressive career for a different Lantern profile. So yes, the feeling is mutual. Yet, this time around, we gather to discuss her impending retirement, after 45 invaluable years at the school.

The Old and the New

The familiarity of our sit-down is both highly apt and also thoroughly incongruous. Ask anybody who knows her, and they’ll wholeheartedly agree, shooting the breeze with Debby is a ton of fun. Nevertheless, since 2017, a whole lot has happened. At Landmark, there have been noteworthy transitions: beloved colleagues have retired or moved on while fresh faces have assumed administrative positions, certain analog traditions have dwindled and, in their stead, efficient new systems have evolved. At home, Debby and her husband, Bobby, have welcomed two new grandchildren. To say nothing of a global pandemic, that many-tentacled beast, which wreaked temporary havoc on Landmark’s unique curriculum, individualized scheduling, and comprehensive teacher training: three ginormous responsibilities that all happen to fall under the academic dean’s purview. “Time really flies. So many things have changed, but I’m most excited about what has stayed the same,” she said, reflecting equally on recent restructuring as well as the entirety of her time here.

Packing Up

Debby’s Elementary•Middle School (EMS) office is neat and comfortable, with a view of the front patio out the window and a photo collage of past campus Halloween costumes displayed on the far wall. The neatness belies any sense that she’s packing up, though she is, and it’s hard. “I just can’t seem to throw some of it away,” she said of the countless documents and ephemera she has collected over time. Her dilemma called to mind Marie Kondo, the Japanese decluttering expert, who advises “tidying up” the excess in our lives by keeping whatever “sparks joy” and tossing the rest. As a prolific hobbyist and self-identified “space-planning nerd,” Debby surely knows of Kondo’s work, but doesn’t she feel beholden to the guru’s mantra?

Joy in Abundance

As we spoke, I observed joy in abundance. While sharing about her intimate involvement with the construction of the EMS Rutter Middle School building, Debby swiftly pulled blueprints from beneath her desk and gleefully indulged in rereading some of her most meticulous notes. Speaking enthusiastically about the one-to-one tutorial, she rattled off the names of students she taught in the 1970s. When I asked how long she had held the position of academic dean, she reached into a filing cabinet and quickly extracted her résumé, chuckling as she admitted that it hadn’t changed much in a few years. As we discussed her passion for developing (and honing) systems that help Landmark teachers be successful, she plucked out pages of handwritten notes from an in-service decades ago, just to emphasize how truly influential all the concepts and experiences she has been exposed to over time have been. 

For Debby, every Landmark memory, even difficult ones like the blizzard of ’78, seem to elicit a sense of true joy. And that joy, it’s exponential. “I love that no two years at Landmark are ever the same. The kids and families change so much, it’s amazing. And the teachers too, are always adapting and developing new skills, so the job is never stagnant. You can never get stuck,” she said. What’s more, it’s contagious. Even when presenting a tedious task or navigating a fraught challenge, Debby exudes joy, softening any mood with her easy laughter and comforting the community with her self-deprecating humor. 

In the years to come, Debby plans to spend time with family, will prioritize her crafting and claims—though some of us have doubts—that she will “be more lazy.” She will discover (and rediscover) joy of myriad kinds, but that Landmark spark will surely never fade. 

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