Stephanie Craib, a pioneer, dies at 74.
By: Nick D’Amore
A longtime South Brunswick educator, who was called upon to aid the district when it faced some of its most difficult times, died Sunday.
Stephanie Craib, whose career in the district took her to four schools, was remembered by many as extremely active in every pursuit and equally as dedicated.
"She had this New England ruggedness that we all respected and grew to love. We owe her a great deal for what the current district looks like," said Willa Spicer, assistant superintendent of curriculum.
Ms. Craib began teaching in South Brunswick in 1960, having moved to Kendall Park two years earlier from Springfield, Mass.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Antioch College in Ohio and a master’s degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
Her career here began at Greenbrook and Cambridge schools, where she taught until she became the curriculum director at Crossroads School.
In 1976, she was asked to lead Brunswick Acres School, which had been opened only a year and was already in turmoil, said Ms. Spicer.
Kathy Guzzo, currently a second-grade teacher at Brunswick Acres, was a young fourth-grade teacher at the school when Ms. Craib was asked to come in and help the school.
"We had problems uniting the community with the staff," said Ms. Guzzo. It was a very fragile time and there was very low morale."
She said parents were not happy with the open space setup of the school and the large team-teaching program that would involve up to three different grade levels.
"Steph helped the parents understand education and the teachers understand the parents," said Ms. Guzzo, who also had Ms. Craib as a teacher while in fourth grade at Cambridge. "We saw her as part of the whole team. She wanted the school to work. We were all one for the benefit of the school."
As a fairly new teacher, she said, she was reassured by Ms. Craib’s presence at the school.
"Everyone looked up to her. She really was the principal. She was constantly visiting classes," she said.
Ms. Guzzo said Ms. Craib made it her job to get to know the teachers very well, hosting parties and happy hours at her home "just to build staff morale."
"She went above and beyond the call of duty. She made sure she opened her home to us," she said.
Anna Johnson, currently a librarian at Monmouth Junction School, worked at Brunswick Acres as a teacher for grades K-4, with Ms. Craib.
She said Ms. Craib started the School Site Council, an organization of shared decision making between parents and teachers.
"She listened to teachers and parents, but was still very definite about what she thought was right," said Ms. Johnson.
"She was very aware of what was going on in education. She always had the big picture in mind." she said.
Ms. Johnson, who has worked for 30 years in the district, said Ms. Craib was the only principal that received recognition from the South Brunswick Education Association.
"She wanted what was best for children," she said.
Ms. Craib would stay on as principal there for 11 years, until she was asked to take on another challenge at Greenbrook School in 1987, which housed a number of newly redistricted students.
Greenbrook had closed because of decreased enrollment, but was slated to reopen that year. The community faced a large-scale redistricting process because of it, similar to the one faced this year. Ms. Craib retired five years later.
Ms. Spicer said Ms. Craib was a direct, straightforward person, who "did not know how to beat around the bush."
"She was a fine administrator. She did some things that were extraordinary. When there was a problem, she always came forward," said Ms. Spicer.
At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, Ms. Spicer asked for a moment of silence in honor of Ms. Craib.
Board member Gail Barcelo said she had been thinking of Ms. Craib often during the heated redistricting process this past spring.
Ms. Barcelo said the community was very unhappy about facing a major redistricting.
"I thought a lot about her this year. She did a beautiful job of melding communities together. Stephanie’s leadership did that," she said.
Beverly Dezan worked as a teacher in grade K-2 in Greenbrook and opened the school with Ms. Craib. She remembers the teachers being excited to start at a school from the ground up.
"She believed in the power of her staff," said Ms. Dezan, currently the science specialist for the district. "She will be sorely missed because she was such an inspiration. It is a great loss."
Ms. Craib’s sons remember their mother as dedicated to teaching, and having a passion for everything from travel, to her religion, to cooking.
"She took her enthusiasm to the organizations she was involved in," said Bill Craib, the youngest of her three sons. "She was not just a member, she was an active participant. She signed up for every project and sometimes overextended herself,"
One of the organizations Ms. Craib was primarily active in was Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton.
Bill Craib said she had been an active delegate to the United Nations as part of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office.
"She was an interfaith representative to the U.N., helping to bring the Unitarian viewpoint to the U.N.," he said.
Ms. Craib was also an avid bird watcher and was a member of the Audobon Society. She took her interest to the Internet, which she slowly, but fully, become familiar with. She was part of a feeder watch program, where she would observe birds in her backyard and send information about specific species and their habits to a Cornell University list via the Internet.
Her love of nature extended to a fondness for gardening.
Bill Craib said her gardens were "beautiful and among the best in Kendall Park."
"She always took great pride that people could see her beautiful gardens," he said.
Ms. Craib also enjoyed traveling, said Bill Craib. She had journeyed to four continents throughout her life, having been to Africa, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Alaska and Northern Canada.
"She worked very hard to be able to do that," he said.
Ms. Craib had a great love of knowledge, which she passed down to her three sons.
"She was well-spoken and well-educated and expected her children to be the same," said Mr. Craib.
She received her bachelor’s degree in education at Antioch College in Ohio, which was a prestigious teacher’s college at the time, said Bill Craib.
She went on to get her master’s degree in education from Rutgers University.
Ms. Craib also is survived by her two other sons, Roderic, of Walpole, Mass., and Calvin of Ramsey; a granddaughter, Dorothy and a grandson, Colin.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Princeton Unitarian Universalist Church on Cherry Hill Road in Princeton.
In lieu of flowers, the Craib family asks for memorial donations to be sent to Unitarian Universalist Church of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, N.J. 08540; the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, 777 U.N. Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017; the Lincoln County Community Theater, P.O. Box 237, Damariscotta, Maine 04543.