We at The Campaign for Stuyvesant were saddened to learn of the death of former SHS English teacher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt on Sunday, July 19, 2009.

Frank began teaching at Stuyvesant in 1970. In 1987, with the encouragement of his students, he retired to write a memoir. In Angela's Ashes, Frank's impoverished childhood in Limerick is brought to vivid life with the wit and warmth of his inimitable voice. The internationally renowned book won a Pulitzer, and was adapted into a hit film. Frank followed with two more successful and critically acclaimed memoirs: 'Tis, about his early days in New York, and Teacher Man, about his career at the Ralph R. McKee Vocational HS in Staten Island and at Stuyvesant.

Frank wrote the introduction for the Stuyvesant HS Centennial Book produced by The Campaign. His thoughts on 9/11 can be found on page 3 of our newsletter from that time, which you can download here. He was always generous with his time, and was devoted to Stuyvesant and to public education in general.

The Campaign was in the midst of planning a project with Frank, a video to promote his views on education. He had a unique way of getting students to tap into their creativity and appreciate the details of their everyday lives. It's impossible to underestimate the impact he had on the lives of so many of his former students.

We need your support to make this happen. Please visit our cause page here to find out more about the documentary and how you can help!

In addition, if you'd like to share your thoughts, feelings, and, of course, stories about his teaching and about what being his student has meant to you, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us at campaign@ourstrongband.org or nealhugh@aol.com.

"Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace." -Frank McCourt

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