This spring Deborah (DC) Cutrer retired from teaching math at the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School. She leaves a lasting legacy.
Deborah (DC) Cutrer knew she wanted to become a teacher from a young age, when she met her third grade teacher, Mrs. Tina Coleman.
“She was the only black woman I had ever seen in a position of responsibility and respect,” DC said. “Seeing her and realizing the importance and the significance for children of color to see someone of color in positions that represent respectful, authoritative, compassionate, inspiring opportunities for them to pursue. I never changed my mind, since third grade. Tina Coleman, that was going to be me.”
DC would go on to a teaching career that spanned 35 years, beginning in Tucson, Ariz. where she grew up, and ending this spring when she retired from the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School, where she has taught middle school and high school math for 18 years.
DC said one of the most rewarding aspects of her job has been the ability to bond with her students and watch them grow.
“That’s the advantage of being at the charter school,” she said. “You get to watch some of these kids walk into the building as kindergarteners then walk across the stage as graduates.”
DC began her career in the Flowing Wells school district in Arizona where she said the teachers were encouraged to pursue professional development, helping her to master the techniques of crafting solid lesson plans.
“Coming to the charter school I brought all those skills with me, but what the charter school gave me was the realization that education needs to do more than dispense knowledge. It’s got to also dispense compassion and understanding. It’s got to dispense activists into the community. It’s got to dispense explorers and travelers and it’s not all about math. All those other things, math, science, English, social studies, they all come in, but the bigger picture at the charter school is to create well rounded human beings.”
As an example, DC mentioned Graysen Kirk, who attended the charter school from kindergarten through eighth grade and recently organized the rally against police brutality and racial injustice at Five Corners in Vineyard Haven.
“That passion and the freedom to think for yourself and to be an activist or to be a pacifist or to be whatever it is you feel it is you need to be in this world, the charter school gives license to kids to do that,” she said. “We don’t chop kids, we don’t take off their edges and put them into a hole that we think best suits them. There are no cookie cutters at the charter school. The charter school is a free-form cookie, we just mold every little cookie with our hands.”
DC said her fellow teachers have also made a lasting impact on her.
“The teachers I teach with here are amazing human beings and brilliant educators and are driven by salaries that are less than most, a time expectation that is greater than many. But the longevity in the building is represented
by the dedication of the teachers and
the families that bring their children to this school.”
And while DC said it is the right time for her to retire it wasn’t an easy decision.
“Walking away is part of the journey. Walking away is a part of the whole process. You’ve got to know when it’s time. It’s not always about you, nature abhors a vacuum. With my leaving I know the young woman who they have hired is going to come in here and do a job that will surpass mine and that’s all I would ever want to see after leaving a position.”
DC has no concrete plans for what she will do next, other than spending more time with her grandson. Another grandchild is due to arrive in September.
“This is not an easy place to walk away from,” she said. “I’m glad that I know that the door is always open to me.”
Comments
Congratulations Ms. Cutrer!
Dorcus Abercrombie Greenville, SCCongratulations Ms. Cutrer!
Thank you!
DeborahThank you!
What a wonderful article. It
Ann Hockaday Warrenton VirginiaWhat a wonderful article. It’s so nice to hear how much she loved her job and the kids she raised and I mean raised. I hate to say that I have several teacher friends in several states and unfortunately I don’t hear very good things or I should say, I hear more bad than good. DC, I really hate to see someone like you go, but you’ve done your duty and it looks like you’ve done a wonderful job. Enjoy your retirement and come visit in Virginia.
Congratulations!! A
Yvette Bay Area, CACongratulations!! A wonderful article and an inspiring woman. Thank you!
We love you DC!
Josh cross MvWe love you DC!
Hello to you my cousin
Denise Camp Chicago IllinoisHello to you my cousin congratulations to you and your retirement i wish you the very best in your next journey in your life enjoy yourself its well deserve love you very much.
Thank you!
DeborahThank you!
Rare is the first rate
Paul Karasik West TisburyRare is the first rate teacher who instructs students in their discipline by understanding how each student learns while encouraging them to take risks and be themselves: to grow as learners and as people.
I have heard DC, at the end of an exhausting week, walk students to their busses telling them not to just do their homework, but to have a restful weekend and to "make good choices".
DC's the best.
One of the finest teachers I
Chase eppers EdgartownOne of the finest teachers I ever had the pleasure to be taught by. She is a fantastic teacher and person
Whatever it is you decide to
Roberta Kirn Vineyard HavenWhatever it is you decide to do, amazing human that you are, I hope it fills you right up to the brim of your huge heart. Thank you so much for everything you have done for all of the young people you have touched, including my two. Ever so grateful. ❤️
I have had the privilege to
Liz Bradley EdgartownI have had the privilege to teach alongside the amazing Ms Cutrer. She has given much to the island. To the one and only DC, I hope the next phase is just as rewarding as the last.
Thank you DC! Without you I
Anna Hughes PhiladelphiaThank you DC! Without you I would never have become who I am today. You were like a family member at school to me--I feel sad for future students who would have had you for their advisor! You are a living legacy not only to the charter school but to MV. The generations who looked up to you not only as a teacher but also as a role model! I don't need to wish you best of wishes for the future--I know the best is still yet to come!
I met DC when she was my
Linda Hughes PhiladelphiaI met DC when she was my daughter, Anna's, advisor and Math teacher in middle school at the Charter School. At our first parent/teacher conference I commented about the stacks of papers piled on her desk and told her I'd be free to help out with anything she needed. I asked why she had so many papers and she said that it was her belief that no two students were at the same place in their math studies at the same time so each was given their own work each day. She hesitantly agreed to take some help and I spent many afternoons grading, recording and filing the never ending stacks of papers away. I am honored to know her.
So lucky to have worked with
Kim Komarinetz EdgartownSo lucky to have worked with DC for all of her 18 years at the Charter School. A special person and friend. She will be missed.
So few of us are lucky enough
John Philip Hagen Vineyard HavenSo few of us are lucky enough to win the lottery or find treasure, however treasure can found in many forms, such as in teachers. DC, I am so grateful that Garrett and Hannah's time at the MVPCS coincided with yours. You have enriched their lives in so many ways and made flyers out of them. Hannah is currently the eldest enrolled Charter Starter and one year from now she will be the only Charter Starter among the graduating class of 2021. When that day comes, we will be scanning the audience, because Hannah is saving her best hug for you. A hug of appreciation for all that you've meant to this family and to the entire Charter School community. God bless you, DC.
I was fortunate to work, and
David Spencer Corpus Christi, TXI was fortunate to work, and coach, with DC early in her career. She was then and, from what I read, now a first rate person and teacher. I am sorry our careers drifted apart when I left Flowing Wells Public Schools and lost contact with her. I wish her the best in her retirement.
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