Taunton school honors beloved teacher whose love of reading was 'contagious'
TAUNTON — Mulcahey Elementary School second-grade teacher Maureen Drake was "well known for sharing her love of reading and books with students," reading specialist Tina Bourgeois said.
"She passed away two years ago in November," Bourgeois said. "We lost a beloved retired teacher. Memorial donations in Maureen's name have been collected to purchase books for students to receive."
Bourgeois said the school has 850 students in pre-kindergarten through grade four, and they will get a free book before the end of the month.
Reading specialist Kristine Donoghue said "a nice variety of books" would be given to all students.
"We have a lot of picture books and chapter books to give," she said. "We have non-fiction books and many books for English language learners. We have a needy student population, and this is a way to get books into the hands of children."
Donoghue said the books have beautiful labels inside the front cover that contributors donated in memory of Drake, who died on Nov. 12, 2020 after a brief period of declining health at the age of 67, according to her obituary.
Bourgeois said financial contributions by teachers, parents and others who knew Drake helped a group of faculty members purchase the books.
"She talked a lot to us about reading," Bourgeois said. "She loved it."
Maureen Drake 'encouraged students to appreciate reading'
Special Education teacher Kelly Germaine said Drake "always had a smile on her face" and would encourage students to appreciate reading.
"She would read to them every day," Germaine said. "She encouraged them to create their own books."
Bourgeois said Drake encouraged students to write a book about their interests.
"Animal themes were some of the things that students were interested in," she said. "She'd have them do research and write a book. Then, she'd meet with them and add to their writing if they had written a complete book."
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Bourgeois said students that wrote books also made homemade covers for their manuscripts.
"She would invite other teachers and parents to come into her classroom, and the kids would read the book aloud that they wrote," Bourgeois said. "She loved it so much."
Drake's daughter, Janine Charbonneau, said her mother "helped instill a love for reading" in her sixth-grade son Drake and daughter Hannah, a third-grader.
"They go to school in Carver," she said. "My kids will read pretty much anything. My son likes to read graphic novels and reads a weekly magazine similar to a news magazine. Reading graphic novels is his favorite."
Maureen Drake was 'a generous soul'
Donoghue said Drake "was amazing and well-loved by students and teachers."
"She was a generous soul who would buy holiday gifts for children," Donoghue said."Her husband (Frank Drake) still donates gifts to students."
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Taunton Public Schools Academic Test Team member Lauren Price said her eighth-grade son Ethan Paul and ninth-grade son Brody Price had Maureen Drake as a teacher when they attended Mulcahey.
Paul said Maureen "was caring, kind, loving and helpful."
"She helped us learn by teaching us how to pronounce words correctly," he said. "We would do popcorn reading."
Popcorn reading is a strategy that helps students learn how to pronounce words correctly by having them read passages aloud from a book in the classroom.
Price said Drake "was a good teacher who cared a lot about people."
"She was very nice and very generous," he said. "She gave away a lot of books to us."
Nurse becomes a teacher
Retired Taunton English as a second language instructor Nellie Mejia said Maureen Drake was a nurse before school officials hired her to teach at the former Walker Elementary School in 2001.
"She went from nursing, in which she cared for older people, to caring for younger kids, when she switched to teaching," she said. "We truly miss her."
Charbonneau said her mother was a nurse for about 10 years before she decided to pursue a teaching career.
"She worked in an operating room at Morton Hospital," Charbonneau said. "She provided home health care to people and was a diabetes nurse educator."
Drake's obituary says she received a master's degree in early childhood education in 1990 from Bridgewater State University — which was known as Bridgewater State College at the time. She held various teaching positions until Taunton officials hired her to teach kindergartners and first graders at Walker School.
Administrators transferred Drake to Mulcahey in 2010, after Walker School closed.
Books given to pre-kindergarten students
Books were distributed to pre-kindergarten students on Wednesday, Nov. 16, and Drake's family was present during the distribution.
Bridgewater State University special education adjunct professor Anne Marie Rodrigues said she and Drake were childhood friends while attending "our beloved Weir Grammar School."
"We shared the same homeroom for four years at Taunton High School," she said. Their careers eventually “paralleled,” being early childhood teachers with a passion for children's books.
Rodrigues said her granddaughter Ava Letourneau is a kindergartner at Mulchaey School, and she received a book in memory of Drake.
"It means a lot to us for her to receive a book in Maureen's name," she said.
Rodrigues said her grandson Ayden, a fifth grader at Martin Middle School, developed a great friendship with Drake "over their love of baseball" when he attended Mulcahey.
"In Maureen Drake’s honor, Ayden and I selected picture books and chapter books that are all baseball related to donate to the beautiful school library," she said.
Bourgeois said Drake's love for reading "was contagious."
"That is why we wanted to give back to her and her family," Bourgeois said. "She was so amazing."
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This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton: Mulcahey School honors teacher Maureen Drake with free books
