Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative Executive Director Catherine Cooper will retire at the end of August. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)
DARTMOUTH — After nearly four decades dedicated to special education and 20 years leading the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative, Executive Director Catherine Cooper will retire at the end of August.
Cooper joined SMEC as Associate Director in September 2006 and became Executive Director in July 2007. During her tenure, she has led programs serving students with special needs and adults with developmental disabilities, built and supported a team of educators and program leaders and become a leading voice for educational collaboratives across Massachusetts.
SMEC founding Executive Director Bob Dunn, Cooper’s predecessor, said he knew she was the right person to lead the Collaborative when he retired.
“I never doubted for a moment that Catherine was the perfect fit to take over the directorship of the Collaborative when the time came for me to retire,” Dunn said. “It made my decision much easier knowing I would be leaving SMEC in her capable hands, and I couldn’t have been happier when the Board felt the same and offered her the job. I am grateful for all of the great work she has accomplished at SMEC.”
Chris Oliver, Chair of the SMEC Board of Directors, said Cooper’s commitment to students and her ability to build a strong team have been defining parts of her leadership.
“One of the things that was always on display during Catherine’s tenure was her fierce professionalism and her absolute commitment to students,” he said. “She is a master at building a great team. Catherine genuinely knows how to spot talent, empower people and give them the space to succeed.”
As Executive Director, Cooper has overseen SMEC’s programs and operations while working closely with its Board of Directors, member districts, staff and community partners. Her responsibilities have included organizational planning, program development, curriculum and instruction, budgeting, staff development and community relations.
Those who have worked with Cooper said her leadership was also defined by the trust she placed in others and the time she spent helping people grow in their own careers.
Lisa Carvalho, a special education teacher with Acushnet Public Schools, said Cooper changed the way she approaches her work with students.
“Catherine made me a better teacher simply by sharing her knowledge, wisdom and passion for special education,” Carvalho said. “She taught me to look at students through a different lens, to advocate fiercely and never to underestimate the power of patience, compassion and a good sense of humor. Her impact on me as an educator will stay with me always.”
SMEC Adult Day Health Program Director Sharon Donovan has worked with Cooper for nearly 20 years, a period that included program moves, state audits, blizzards, staffing challenges and the unprecedented disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donovan said Cooper trusted her with the opportunity to become a director and supported her as she learned to navigate those challenges, including temporarily closing the program during the pandemic and developing remote services for its members.
What Donovan remembers most, however, is the culture Cooper helped create.
“What stands out most to me is seeing the joy our members and students experience every day because of the culture Catherine worked so hard to create,” Donovan said. “She created an environment where people feel valued, supported and connected, and that impact will continue long after she retires.”
Sean Mitchell, Director of SMEC’s Supporting Adults for Inclusive Living Program, said Cooper offered that support without trying to make every decision herself.
“Catherine has always been completely supportive of our program’s needs while also providing me the autonomy to determine the direction of day-to-day services and long-term solutions,” Mitchell said.
Retired SMEC Student Services Director Michelle Goettlich remembers a much smaller moment that shaped how she approached her career.
Goettlich was still relatively new in her role and juggling oversight of several programs with frequent trips to the Cape and Islands, IEP meetings, paperwork, staff management and a report on transitional services. One evening, Cooper stopped by as Goettlich continued working late.
“You don’t need to stay so long. Go home. It will be here in the morning. Life is too short,” Cooper told her.
Goettlich said she had heard similar advice from others, including her own family, but hearing it from Cooper made it stick. From then on, she made a conscious effort to remember that the work could wait and that time with family mattered.
SMEC Director of Communication Sherri Tetrault, who has worked at SMEC for more than three decades, similarly described Cooper as a leader who could handle difficult problems while making the people around her feel heard and supported.
That leadership became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when SMEC programs had to change quickly and staff, students and families faced tremendous uncertainty. Cooper worked with staff to keep programs operating and continue providing services to those who relied on them.
While Cooper’s day-to-day work was centered at SMEC, her influence extended across Massachusetts.
Through the Massachusetts Organization of Educational Collaboratives, Cooper became a longtime advocate for collaboratives and the students, adults, families and school districts they serve.
She served as a MOEC regional liaison, secretary, vice president and president, and for many years chaired its Legislative Committee. She also served as an instructor in MOEC’s Leadership Academy, helping prepare future collaborative leaders.
MOEC Executive Director Joanne Haley Sullivan said Cooper earned the trust of colleagues and policymakers because she remained prepared, persistent and focused on the people affected by the issues under discussion.
“People trust Catherine because she is thoughtful, prepared, honest and persistent, always focused on what is best for students and the organizations we serve,” Haley Sullivan said.
Cooper worked extensively with state lawmakers on issues affecting educational collaboratives. She helped lawmakers better understand why collaboratives should be able to provide adult services, including by inviting them to SMEC to see those programs and the people they served firsthand.
For more than a decade, Cooper also worked to modernize state law affecting educational collaboratives, continuing the effort through legislative sessions, legal revisions and negotiations.
Haley Sullivan said Cooper could take complicated statutes and policy discussions and connect them to the students, adults, families and school districts that would ultimately be affected.
“That is a legacy worth celebrating,” Haley Sullivan said.
Cathy Lawson, Executive Director of SEEM Collaborative, said Cooper’s influence was also personal for many of her colleagues across the state.
“I have had the honor of working alongside Catherine for more than 15 years and have come to know her not only as an extraordinary colleague, but also as a trusted friend and mentor,” Lawson said. “I am grateful to have her friendship and guidance, and for the lasting impact she has had on me, both personally and professionally.”
Cooper’s career in education began in 1990 as a special education teacher at ComCare Services’ former Network High School in Brockton, where she spent five years.
She went on to serve in many leadership positions in alternative education, including Head Teacher of an alternative program in the Old Rochester Regional School District and Assistant Director and later Director of the Southeast Alternative School in Middleborough.
Cooper also worked as an education specialist for the Massachusetts Department of Education before becoming Director of Special Education for Acushnet Public Schools in 2001. She remained in that position until joining SMEC five years later.
Cooper earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Master of Education in Special Education from then-Bridgewater State College and later earned her Juris Doctor from what is now UMass Law. She holds Massachusetts educator and law licenses.
Earlier this month, about 100 clients and staff from SMEC’s Adult Day Health and Supporting Adults for Inclusive Living programs celebrated Cooper and the impact of her career at a rodeo-themed celebration dubbed “The Last Rodeo.”
After a morning of games, music, dancing and karaoke, State Rep. Christopher M. Markey surprised Cooper with a citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives recognizing and thanking her for her work on behalf of students with special needs and adults with developmental disabilities.
“Everyone has been blessed to have Catherine at SMEC working as hard as she does and advocating for each and every one of you and your families,” Rep. Markey said. “She has worked hard to make everyone’s lives better.”
State Rep. Christopher M. Markey, right, presented a citation from the House of Representatives to Catherine Cooper, left, honoring her years of service as Executive Director of SMEC. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative)
Cooper received hugs and applause from staff and clients before a Western-themed cake was brought out and she was presented with an oversized card signed by those she has spent years serving and working alongside.
The celebration ended with a group singalong of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
“Thank you, everyone. This was very unexpected,” Cooper told the crowd. “I appreciate it. I will miss all of you very, very much.”
For those who worked alongside Cooper, her retirement marks the end of a significant chapter for SMEC, but not the end of her influence on the Collaborative or the people who have learned from her.
As Tetrault told Cooper while reflecting on their years together, “SMEC is stronger because of you. Our students and members are better served because of you.”
About SMEC
The Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative is a public education collaborative established in 1975. SMEC is an extension of 10 public school systems, which make up its membership. The present membership includes the Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Fall River, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, Rochester and Old Rochester Regional public school districts. SMEC accepts students for enrollment in its programs from school systems throughout Southeastern Massachusetts. The Collaborative’s programs and services are locally based and locally directed and are designed to supplement the special education resources of its member districts. SMEC offers a variety of services for students with special needs aged 3-21 as well as adults with developmental disabilities. To learn more about the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative, visit smecollaborative.org.
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