Alison Link to leave school committee after 12 years

NORWELL — Alison Link will not run for re-election to the school committee, closing out her 12 years of service to the town.

In speeches about Link’s departure at the April 27 school committee meeting, colleagues said she was instrumental in organizing an override, served as a “core support” for the schools during Covid, and always took care to prioritize students’ needs.

“You say things that are tough when they need to be said,” School Committee Chair Kristin McEachern said, “and yet you're so caring and always have a students-first mentality.”

Link has served on the school committee since her youngest children were enrolled in kindergarten in Norwell, and those children are set to graduate this year.

“When the youngest two were in kindergarten and they went full day, I was like, ‘now what do I do?’ So I ran for school committee,” Link said. “I had no idea that that would be the full-time job that actually cost my family money when I was getting babysitters all the time to go to things. But I loved it.”

Colleagues said that Link’s grasp of school committee procedure over her long tenure helped her serve as a mentor to other members, and her experience working as a teacher helped her bring an “educator’s lens.”

“I loved being able to feel like I had a voice in education because it was the thing that I enjoyed the most,” Link said.

In her parting speech, Link urged community members to “give everyone the benefit of the doubt” when handling disagreements. 

“Everyone up here is here out of the goodness of their heart. They're here because they care about what happens to Norwell Public Schools and they come at it with the best of intentions,” she said. “My assumption for anyone who comes up and has something to say as well is the same thing.”

She thanked four Norwell Public Schools teachers for their work educating her children: former elementary school teacher Robbin Fitzgerald, elementary school teacher Gretchen Abbott, high school Latin teacher Jim Whelton and Assistant Principal Matt Marani.

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