Events

We’ve been saddened by the passing of John Reed a couple of weeks ago. John had a long-standing connection to MPDE under an earlier name, dating back to early recruiting efforts by the founder, Sam Turner, to identify educators of color for suburban school districts. John was a newly certified teacher in Boston when Sam succeeded in convincing him to accept a position on the Cape at the Barnstable Public Schools. Not only did John join Barnstable PS as a history teacher, where he taught or over 25 years, but extended this service by volunteering to continue to be the Barnstable MPDE representative. 

John’s contributions to MPDE throughout the years are too numerous to account for here and to other organizations, like the NAACP. I do want to mention, however, the incredible talent he had for drawing educators of color to Cape Cod school districts not only from within MA localities but also successfully from southern, HBCU colleges, a very challenging feat. His commitment to this mission was unquestionable as he made many of these contacts on his own when on his family vacation trips. 

John will be sorely missed. MPDE plans to pay tribute to John in a special way, the details of which will be announced as soon as plans are finalized. We ask all MPDE members, although many did not get to know John, to keep his wife and his family in your thoughts. Attached here are the schedule for his funeral services and the address where condolences and cards can be sent.

Article in Cape Cod Times about John Reed