It’s been six months since Gene Connolly retired as Concord High School principal. But walk into the school any day of the week, and signs of the beloved principal are everywhere.
There’s the huge circular wooden bench in the middle of the main hallway that surrounds a large green plant – a nod to Connolly’s small garden of house plants that he kept in his office.
Then there’s the granite bench that sits outside the school entrance in the same place Connolly stood every morning before the first bell, greeting each student and teacher as they walked in. Engraved in the stone are words summarizing Connolly’s motto: “Greet everyone, acknowledge everyone, say hello to everyone, all of the time.”
Connolly capped off a 14-year stint at the helm of the high school in July, two years after he was diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease ALS. What started out as a slight slur in Connolly’s speech morphed into gradual paralysis.
Connolly kept to his daily schedule: waking up about 4:30 a.m. to enjoy a cup of coffee and the morning news and sports before the sun rose.
Throughout the 2015 school year, Connolly gradually started using voice aids like a microphone and a marker board to communicate. By the time the 2016 school year had started, he was speaking through a voice synthesizer on his iPad and walking with a cane.
As his muscles weakened, Connolly eventually switched to a scooter. The battery powered vehicle had two settings – turtle for slow and rabbit for fast. More often than not, Connolly had the scooter set to rabbit.
But it wasn’t Connolly’s disease that was on display for the school to see; it was his spirit and his steadfast determination.
“Gene is every day,” Concord High Athletic Director Steve Mello said in a June interview. “He’s consistent; he’s available; he’s there.”
It was the ultimate lesson the principal could offer his students.
His last year was an emotional one for Concord High.
Students and community members gathered for annual “Connolly Tough” walks to help his family with medical costs, and the entire school gathered for a huge 60th birthday bash in April, complete with cupcakes, party hats and musical chairs.
Dozens of past and current students said Connolly’s constant, unwavering presence around the school made all the difference in their high school years.
Small things like greeting students outside, popping into classes and remembering people’s names made huge impressions on generations of Concord High students and alumni.
Connolly said he knew he wanted to be an educator from a young age.
He soon realized that he needed to earn the respect of his students.
“Being visible is important, but you have to have substance,” Connolly said during an interview last school year. “(Students) know a lot more than they let on. They have the adults figured out.”
Many students said Connolly treated them with respect as young adults, and never looked down upon them.
“He earned our trust,” said Concord High alum Summer Olsen, a 2011 graduate. “Everybody really did respect him 100 percent.”
(Ella Nilsen can be reached at 369-3322, enilsen@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @ella_nilsen.)