Linda Sanchini possessed all the traits that make a phenomenal teacher – creativity, encouragement, imagination, enthusiasm, positivity, compassion and passion.

Always welcoming a challenge, Linda taught multi-aged groups years ago when the school first instituted the model in place today. She witnessed the inclusion of computers for instructional use, from the initiation of technology in the classroom to the virtual learning of the Covid years. Flexible to a fault, many of us are familiar with her smile and her shrug which together translated to the teacher’s expression, “We do what we have to do. For the kids”.

Linda was instrumental in the school’s extracurricular activities, volunteering for summer school, afterschool clubs and programs, establishing a school garden, planning field trips, involving children in their community, from visiting town institutions to researching its history, inviting guest speakers to enhance classroom lessons, and inviting the community at large to witness the lessons learned through classroom projects. Linda also kept the community apprised of student accomplishments through submitting their work for publication to the Hampton Gazette, where their essays and poems and art were illustrative of their knowledge and their creativity in presenting it.

Linda was an inspiration not only to her students, but to other educators as well. I used to take professional time to observe her instruction in math, where her innovative lessons extended to stations that explored every realm of arithmetic instead of the compartmentalized versions our curricula used to prescribe. Math came alive in meaningful ways in Linda’s classroom. She employed a holistic approach to teaching, building on a foundation that branched into different directions, connecting the objective to all areas of the curriculum – reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art — one subject to another, and to the children’s experiences, in order to maximize learning. Perhaps only teachers can appreciate the planning involved in this type of instruction, yet Linda never neglected the teachable moment – understood it, validated it, and was always excited to relay it. She loved to share the children’s projects, always marveling at their intelligence, their curiosity, their accomplishments. Her excitement for learning for the sake of learning was contagious. Linda loved to teach, and that was evident whenever you spoke with her.

Although Linda will be missed, we’re certain that learning for its own sake will continue in her retirement, and that creativity will follow right along.

Dayna McDermott