Mary+Morris

Hi, my name is Mary Morris and I am the Assistant Superintendent at Cheektowaga Central. I have been with the district since 1991. I went to an all girls local catholic high school in the 70's. I remember being an average student with average ability but I always loved school and the nuns had a motto that made me believe I could accomplish anything. I even took AP courses although I probably wouldn't have qualified for AP in our local public schools.

In 7th grade I had an opportunity to visit Europe with my grandparents. We took a day long trip to Algiers, Africa and toured the slums of the Kasbah. I knew then I would enter a helping profession. At the time, I thought it would be nursing.

In my junior year of high school, I still wanted to major in nursing. However, that year I had an opportunity to take a criminal justice elective and attend the Attica trials. For those of you not born yet, in the early 70's there were riots at the Attica prison. When some of the inmates were on trial, our teacher brought us to observe the trials. It was a defining moment for my career. I knew I wanted to work with people who were down and out. I worried a lot in those days about social justice.

I applied to Niagara University, SUNY Brockport and UB. I was accepted at Niagara and Brockport. You can't get in to UB with my SAT scores. I chose Brockport because I wanted a larger school that was a little father away from home. I majored in psychology, finished my course work in three years as an honor student. In my senior year I did a full year internship at Hillside Children's Center in Rochester, New York. I worked in one of the cottages with boys ages13-17. These boys were removed from their homes and lived at Hillside. I applied to UB for graduate school and was accepted into the School Counseling program even with my low GRE scores. I finished my Masters in Education, Magna Cum Laude in 1985, worked at a local private girls high school until I started at Cheektowaga Central.

I went back to school for my administrative certification in the mid 90's at Buffalo State because I wanted to work more specifically with special education students. Today, I am still driven by the need to help others realize their potential. Most days I believe the ridiculous amount of red tape and paper work I have to endure is overshadowed by the great things my teachers do for my kids. I feel grateful to be a part of that.