Mary Scaccia announced her retirement following 21 years of teaching second grade at Resurrection Catholic School.
A product of Catholic school, Scaccia graduated from Sacred Heart of Jesus School and Lancaster Catholic High School. Catholic education and teaching have always been much more than a job. She begins each day by asking, “Boys and girls, what is your job today?”
They respond in unison, “My job is to learn and to love one another. What is your job, Mrs. Scaccia?” She replies, “My job is to teach you and to love you.”
Just out of Shippensburg University, Scaccia began teaching first grade at Mill Road Elementary in Elizabethtown. After five years, she relocated with her husband several times but continued teaching religious education for her church or as a substitute in local schools. When she returned to Lancaster in 1995, she worked in the library at St. Anne School which her children attended. She started at Resurrection in 1998.
“I loved it since the moment I walked in the door,” she said. Part of that emotion comes from preparing for the sacraments. She attends the First Communion Mass for every student, not insignificant since students might belong to any one of four city churches that support Resurrection: St. Mary, St. Joseph, St Anthony, San Juan Bautista. She once went to three services on a Saturday morning, with the help of her husband Peter who chauffeured.
Scaccia received a master’s degree in education from Temple University and also earned a reading specialist certification from Millersville University. She will miss reading to students.
“I love children’s literature and sharing all different genres and authors with kids,” she said. She has made a tradition of reading favorites: “Charlotte’s Web” starts the year; “The Night Before Christmas” comes in December. Each day, she reads the same story by Clement C. Moore but illustrated by a different person. Students talk about the pictures and how they might draw them.
“You’d be amazed at how their imaginations interpret the story,” she said.
Her devotion to teaching spills over to organizing special events such as the Day of Sharing, the annual giving tree and holding an Olympic ceremony when world Olympics take place. Pictures of her annual field trips, especially those to Central Market in Lancaster and Gnome Countryside in Kirkwood, Pa., get dozens of nostalgic comments and likes when posted on social media.
Scaccia received a Golden Apple award in 2007 from the Harrisburg Diocese. She plans to remain in Lancaster, spend more time with her seven grandchildren and travel with her husband.