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EARL AND MARY WATTS
Mention Earl and Mary Watts to anyone in the Sarasota education
community, and you get a history lesson on how many lives they
touched.
“It all
begins with a solid educational foundation,” Mary’s son, Edwin,
often heard her say. So it came as no surprise when an anonymous
donor established a scholarship honoring two of the area’s most
influential educators.
Dr. Laurey
Stryker, USF Sarasota-Manatee CEO, announced the Earl and Mary Watts
Memorial Scholarship, a $100,000 endowment, with matching state
funds bringing the total amount to $150,000, at the January 19
Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.
“These were
extraordinary people, who were role models to many, and who set high
standards. They had great influence in bringing about positive
changes to the Sarasota County School System, and we are honored to
accept this gift,” says Stryker.
Inspired by
the Wattses’ example, the donor hopes the scholarship will
acknowledge Earl and Mary’s strong leadership and contribution to
the community, and provide financial access to higher education for
those in need.
“This
scholarship is a wonderful tribute to Earl and Mary,” says Lynnette
Edwards, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for
Manatee County Schools, and member of the USF Sarasota-Manatee
Campus Board. “As members Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Mary and I
worked together to raise scholarship money. Education was something
about which she felt strongly.”
Mary and
Earl created a formidable alliance for educational standards and
equality. They had tremendous compassion, Edwin remembers, and their
lives were examples of hard work, perseverance and the value of
education. “The effects of their influence have trickled down over
three generations,” Edwin notes. “They set standards that are still
in place today.”
Although Edwin was too young in 1966 to understand the significance
of his mother’s appointment as the first black teacher at Southside
Elementary, he knows where she got her strength of character. He
recalls a story his mother used to tell about her childhood.” My
grandfather was a plumber in their small Alabama hometown and often
installed ‘Whites Only’ drinking fountains. He used to take my
mother with him and when he was done putting one in, he let her be
the first to drink from it. It was his way of showing her she was as
good as anyone. Her parents instilled in her an acceptance of
herself that she carried into adulthood.”
The
Wattses were pioneers in education for African Americans in Sarasota
County. Mary Watts was the district’s first, and only, African
American assistant superintendent when she retired in 1997. She and
husband Earl were among the first black principals in the district.
Mary was principal at Gocio and Wilkinson Elementary schools, and
was called out of retirement by the School Board in 1999 as acting
principal for Booker Middle School. Earl was assistant principal,
and later principal, at Sarasota Junior High School, and football
coach at Booker and Sarasota High. He was the district’s coordinator
of employee relations, and supervisor of affirmative action and
minority education programs when he retired in 1991. Both were
affiliated with many civic and church organizations and committees.
Thirty years of their example left an indelible mark on the
surrounding community. Just ask Wilma Hamilton, former Sarasota
County Schools superintendent. “Mary and Earl spent their entire
careers helping others and insisting on high standards for their
students,” she says. “It would please them to know others who might
not have the financial means can now benefit from higher education.”
Hamilton
describes Mary as a friend and mentor who never failed to give her
good advice. The Wattses were good parents, she adds, and had
wonderful strength of character. “Mary wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an
answer when it concerned issues in the best interest of students.
She and Earl were devoted to quality education for all children.”
Earl also was president of the West Coast Golf Connection, and known
for his sense of humor. “He would probably want the scholarship
based on need and expertise in golf,” Hamilton says with a laugh.
Earl and
Mary met at Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University. Upon
graduation, they moved to Sarasota in 1961. Both earned advanced
degrees and professional certificates while raising two sons. In the
1960s, there were many obstacles for African-American educators to
overcome, not the least of which was the resistance and hardships
associated with court-ordered integration. But it wasn’t long before
the Wattses’ professionalism and caring won over the community.
Their dedication, persistence and quality of character are what
inspired the anonymous endowment for the Earl and Mary Watts
Memorial Scholarship. It will stand as a reminder of two people who
left a mark upon history, the hearts of many in Sarasota County, and
beyond.
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