Rosemary (Solimine) Scavongelli, a highly respected educator with Medford Public Schools, died Saturday at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in the company of her loving family. She was 73.
Rosemary was born in Boston and raised in Medford, the daughter of the late William and the late Mary (Polcari) Solimine. A graduate of Medford public schools and Boston State College, Rosemary enjoyed a long career as and educator and administrator in the Medford school system. A teacher at the former Davenport School, Rosemary went on to earn her M.Ed and CAGS. She became Assistant Principal at the Davenport School in 1975. From 1984-1991 Rosemary was a Reading Specialist at Medford’s Davenport and Gleason Schools and became the first Reading Recovery teacher for the Medford Public Schools. Recognizing the importance of children and parents reading together, Rosemary implemented the program: Literature is Tops, in every elementary school in Medford. In 1991 she was appointed Medford’s Title 1 Director until her retirement in June 2004. During her tenure, Rosemary developed an Early Literacy Plan for Medford Public Schools and secured millions of dollars for elementary school literacy programs through her successful grant writing abilities. Teachers, students and parents benefited from these grants. She was often called upon by the Massachusetts Department of education to help other schools in grant writing. Rosemary was one of the most highly respected leaders in early literacy in Massachusetts. She willingly shared her wealth of knowledge and expertise with individual educators and administrators as well as at state and national conferences. During the 90’s, Rosemary was instrumental in bringing superb professional development courses nor only to teachers in Medford but throughout Massachusetts and other states. Rosemary’s vision, talents and innovations were recognized in other educational settings. She was a national consultant for Rigby Professional Development and was a member of many professional organizations. She served on the steering committee for MA Whole Language Teachers Association from 1990-2001 and was President of that organization from 1994-1996.
In all of the roles that Rosemary held in the field of education, her foremost concern was always for the children in our schools. She worked tirelessly to insure the very best educational experiences for all children. Additionally, her support of teachers was evident in every plan and program she brought to Medford. She was the recipient of many honors including Learning Magazine’s Professional Leadership Award in 1990, Massachusetts Association of Teacher Educators 1996 Outstanding Teacher Educator Honoree and the National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (NAFEPA) 2003 State Leadership Award.
But, to Rosemary, the most meaningful honors were the countless number of former students who returned to tell her that she made a significant difference in their lives.
She was the beloved wife of Richard M. Scavongelli. She was a devoted mother to Richard J. Scavongelli and his wife Pamela of Virginia, Peter Scavongelli and his wife Michele of Carlisle, Anthony Scavongelli and his wife Susan of Duxbury. She was a loving grandmother to Peter, Daniel, Anthony, Domenic, Christopher, Katherine, Allie and Missy. She was a dear sister to Lucille Carpenter of Reading, the late Joanne Buoncuore and Willliam Solimine. Rosemary also leaves many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
Her funeral will be from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St., Medford, Thursday at 9 AM followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Francis Of Assisi Church, Fellsway West, Medford, at 10 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours Wednesday 4 - 9. Burial will be private. Contributions may be made to the Rosemary Scavongelli Memorial Fund, C/O Citizens Bank, 164 L Summer St., Kingston, MA 02364.