In Memoriam -- Paul Scaer

The Science Leadership Academy lost one of its founding members as our librarian, Paul Scaer, lost his battle with cancer and passed away at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning. Paul was a truly outstanding and caring educator, and his vision for the role of a library in an inquiry-driven and project-based school will guide us in the Scaer Library for years to come.

Paul took great joy in being a part of the SLA community, and he felt deep regret that he had to leave SLA before the work he set out to do was finished. As SLA continues to grow and evolve, we will honor Paul and his ideals by continuing to create a library that is both a place of great learning and of great joy.

That was what I wrote on the front of SLA's web site today. And that was the sentiment of what I said to the students who knew Paul -- our sophomores and juniors -- this afternoon. But there's much more to say...

Paul was an extraordinary educator. He embodied the ethic of care in the way that he treated students and teachers alike. As another one of our founding teachers said today -- it was when Paul signed on to join us that we all really knew that something very special could happen at Science Leadership Academy. He left Masterman -- one of the most prestigious magnet schools in the country -- to build the library at SLA. He was well-respected state-wide for his leadership in school libraries. And, in fact, when I first called him, it was to see if he knew anyone to recommend as  librarian, because it never even crossed my mind that he'd be willing to leave Masterman and join us.

Bringing Paul to SLA was one of the great stories of the birth of the school. I called Joyce Valenza, who I knew a bit from blogging and such, to see where I should look to recruit a tech-saavy "blended" librarian, and she told me that while she didn't know the Philly scene that well, I should talk to Paul Scaer because he was a great resource in the city. Paul and I traded a few emails, and arranged to talk on the phone. We talked for a while, and I laid out my vision of the school and of the role of the library and of tech and of open source and asked Paul who he could recommend. Paul's response was, "Well, I'd be really interested in doing that." I don't think I can accurately describe the stuttering response from me that followed, because I was so caught off-guard. With all of the due-diligence we did around the first cohort of teachers, I can say -- we only interviewed one person for the librarian position.

There are few librarians who see their job as encompassing information specialist, music teacher, head of the second lunch-room, open-source advocate, union chapter chair and sounding board for the adults. Paul was all of those things and more. The library under Paul was a safe haven for so many kids. It was packed at lunch every day with students reading and playing music and talking. It was open every day after school, and there were always students at Paul's desk with him. And he was a magnificient collaborator as well, bringing the ethos of research -- such an important part of our school -- into classes as he worked with other teachers to do information and research literacy classes so that kids saw the value and need for those skills as a part of every class, not just when students made a special trip to the library.

And on a personal note, Paul was an amazing colleague. Being a thirty-five year old founding principal wasn't easy, and there were (are) many moments of a crisis of confidence for me along the way. One of the most humbling and comforting and emboldening things about that first year (and onward) was that educators like Paul -- career teachers with many more years of experience (teaching and life) than me -- believed both in our vision and in my ability to lead us there. As a young principal who occasionally wondered what I was doing even attempting what we were doing, Paul's support and belief in me and willingness to dive into the work in front of us was so important to me.

Paul's goal was to spend five years at SLA before retiring. He wanted to get the library to a point where a younger person could take the work he had done and build on it. We only had Paul for a year and a half, and he really did view his work at SLA as unfinished. We are very lucky in that we have hired the person this spring who has the energy and vision and passion to continue what he started. Last week, while sitting in on a meeting with our new librarian and various faculty members and library science experts in the area, I sent Paul an email to let him know that his vision was safe in her hands, and that his work would be continued. His family was, as we found out this week, reading him all the notes and letters and emails that people were sending him, and I hope that he heard what I wrote and could feel peace that his work would be continued, and that he could see his work at SLA as a job well-done for the leadership he gave the space that will forever bear his name.

While Paul was there, the library was my first stop every morning. Cup of coffee in hand, I would come into the library every day at the start of school to catch up with Paul... get his read on what was going on at school... bounce ideas around... or listen to his latest ideas for the space and the school. I looked forward to that every day. Our school lost a founding member today, but for me, I also lost a friend.

Paul Scaer was as kind and decent and passionate an educator and colleague as I will ever meet. Our world is better for his having lived in it, and he was taken from us far too soon.