McCann losing ‘consummate professional’By Linda Carman
12:00AM / Wednesday, March 17, 2004
NORTH ADAMS — C.H. McCann Technical School Principal Francis Millard has been principal, coach, teacher and mentor to students at the school during his 35-year career.
His recent announcement that he plans to retire at the end of this school year prompted numerous reflections on his contributions to the school among those who have worked with him.
“He’s the quintessential secondary school principal,” said longtime McCann School Committee member James Gazzaniga of Williamstown.
“An intense professional,” said Richard Alcombright, committee vice chairman and city councilor.
“A consummate professional,” said both current Superintendent James Brosnan and retired Superintendent Howard Brookner.
“I consider him the finest principal I’ve ever known in my entire career, a consummate professional with lots of energy — passionate about McCann and vocational education,” Brosnan said. “Throughout his career, he’s mentored and worked with staff, assisted and guided countless students. He’s also one of the best coaches, not only technically, but also in dealing with the students and mentoring them. He sets an example everyone wants to follow.”
He added, “McCann is a top-rated vocational school, in no small measure because of the efforts of Fran Millard.”
Those who have worked closely with Millard also described him as many-faceted, as able to see situations from various perspectives and as a tireless advocate for the students and for the school.
“He pours his heart and soul into his efforts for the school,” said Alcombright, a 1971 McCann graduate who has been on the committee for 10 years. “He has never lost sight of why he went into the profession in the first place. For him, it’s all about the kids. …Fran will be a hard act to follow, not just because of the passion he brings to his work but the integrity he brings to his work.”
Brookner, superintendent from 1977 to 1995,and now director of Sweetwood Continuing Care retirement community in Williamstown, said, “One of the high points of my career at McCann School was selecting Fran to be my principal. He was always a wonderful advocate for the students and for the teachers.”
Gazzaniga, a committee member for 24 years, remarked on the Millard’s composure in all of his varied involvements.
“He’s got a quiet demeanor, and a very fair, very honest approach to his responsibilities,” Gazzaniga said. “He’s a coach, he works with the ambulance service and the ski patrol. These are all opportunities to hone his leadership skills. There are so many facets of service to this guy’s personality — and he’s brought all these to his job as principal. He’s really distinguished himself in that position.”
Millard, in an interview Monday on his 58th birthday, said his 35-year career in education, 16 as McCann principal, were the fulfillment of lifelong aims.
“I always knew I wanted to go into education. I went to college to become a teacher,” he said.
A 1964 graduate of Drury High School, where he played football and ran track, he headed to Kansas and Ottawa University after graduation, the first member of his family to attend college. He credits his mother, Alma Millard, now 87, for encouraging him and his brother, Craig, recently retired as the city’s director of police. She brought up the boys alone after their father’s death when Francis was 12 and Craig 9, and Millard described her as a strong-minded woman. She still volunteers at North Adams Regional Hospital, he said.
She had worked in various North Berkshire mills – Berkshire Hathaway, Cornish Wire, Wall-Streeter shoes — and, he said, “She was determined I wasn’t going to work in those mills. Her persistence and hard work paid off.”
Millard also credited some high school coaches with influencing his direction, and, he said, he has sought, in his own career, to pass that mentoring along.
“I’ve been fortunate,” he said, with characteristic modesty. “I do try to get people going in the right direction — direction in life and as part of the educational system. It’s a lesson in life, is the way I’ve looked at it.”
He also reflected on some changes at McCann over the course of his tenure, first as a social studies teacher, then as principal.
“When I first came here, we were more strict. When I started teaching, [male] students wore coats and ties. Now there’s a dress code, but it’s more relaxed,” he said. “We used to tell students they could graduate from McCann and get a good job that they could hold for 20 or 25 years. Now we no longer tell them that. We say they can expect to continue their education.”
McCann has changed dramatically in that “most students go on to continue their education” after graduation, he said.
“We’ve got students going to some of the best colleges in the country,” he noted.
The school requires applications, and receives more than it can admit. The students themselves haven’t changed a lot, but perhaps they may be dealing with more complex issues, he said. More of McCann’s students stay in the area than do graduates of North Berkshire’s other three high schools, and many have established jobs before graduation.
“I can’t go out on a weekend without running into McCann graduates, whether it’s to a car dealership, a restaurant or a machine shop — and in many cases they own the business,” Millard said.
Students are placed with area businesses toward the end of their junior years, in many cases working there over the summer and during senior year. Five or six years ago, McCann couldn’t produce enough students to fill the needs of area employers, Millard said. Then, as the economy dipped, the school had some difficulty placing all of its students. But, he said, the climate has recently improved.
“It’s getting better this spring. Business is picking up.”
Although the fields of study have remained the same, technology has revolutionized what students actually learn. Drafting has become computer-assisted design; electronics has become information technology, and so on throughout the curriculum.
Students in automotive technology, for example, need to know how to deal with the six computers in every car to analyze a problem, Millard said. “Business information systems” mean computers.
McCann students, he said, tend to be very focused on learning their work.
“For the most part, our students really like what they’re doing. There’s little wasted time, they take pride in what they’re doing and they want to show it off,” he said. “When I take a visitor through the workshops, they find students all on task. That’s why they come here.”
“We’ve beefed up our academics,” he said, adding that last year only one student did not pass the state mandated MCAS tests. Although three didn’t make it this year, those have retaken the tests and may have gotten through, he said.
“We’re doing very well. Students get more serious, the more time they have invested here.”
Millard’s retirement plans sound typically energetic. He plans to continue his work with the North Adams Ambulance Service and on the Ski Patrol at Jiminy Peak. He allows as how he might play a bit more golf and will read for pleasure rather than necessity. And of course, he will continue coaching.
Millard also credited his wife, Kathy, a McCann teacher, for her support, and he expressed pride in his three daughters’ accomplishments.
“I’m getting out before I burn out,” he said. “I’m still having fun. I love the students and the staff. I have nothing but fond memories.” |
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