OXFORD – Retired former curriculum director Art Turner remembers Mark Otterson as a good student.

Superintendent Mark Eastman remembers his savvy and drive as creator of a learning enrichment program.

Hundreds of kids remember Otterson as the one who enriched their lives with challenging summer programs and as the leader of the gifted and talented program.

Now, many of those memories will be coalesced into a scholarship fund honoring Otterson, the SAD 17 gifted and talented administrator who died last September.

The district announced last week that a scholarship will be created for students to attend the Learning Opportunities for Our Kids, a summer enrichment program for children in elementary school.

Turner said Otterson was a student in his junior high science class in 1964.

“He was a very hard worker, had a good work ethic and was a very creative person,” Turner said. “I think his interests in the G&T program stem from his own experience.”

Turner said Otterson was probably frustrated while at the secondary education level.

“I’m speculating, but I don’t think he was fitting into the routine like they wanted him to,” Turner said. “He needed a setting where he could excel. He was someone that learned in a different way.”

Otterson began his SAD 17 career as a teacher in Waterford and then teaching principal at Oxford Elementary School. He became a teacher in the gifted and talented program and then became its coordinator.

He ran this program for more than 15 years.

About 10 years ago, Alice Gruba of Norway and Ethel Turner of Otisfield met with Otterson to discuss the possibility of a summer enrichment program. The two women had been taking their children to Poland during past summers and hoped for local classes.

Otterson created the LOOK Program and since then classes have been taught with such themes as the culture of Australia, computer-controlled Lego construction, and teaching the French and Hindi languages.

In the past, the program has been run with the support of community donations and SAD 17. The new Mark Otterson Memorial LOOK Scholarship Fund has been established to provide an opportunity for more students to attend the summer classes.

Donations may be sent to Maggie Craig, SAD 17 School District, 1570 Main St., Suite 11, Oxford, ME 04270.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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