As golf coach, Jerry instilled in his players a love for the game that will last a lifetime.
of 1983 as the intern for his geometry class that I first met Jerry. Toward the end of the summer session I asked him for some career advice. “Al,” he told me, “I wouldn’t recommend going into teaching.” I like to think that his assessment wasn’t based on my ability, but on the state of the profession at the time. After two years of teaching at the summer school, Jerry was hooked on Taft. Despite being named Connecticut teacher of the year for the town of Watertown, Jerry was ready for a change. Not many people would go in to see Lance Odden cold about a job, but Jerry is not many people. His oldest daughter, Anna ’89, had been a childhood pal of future Taft classmate Laurie Odden. When the girls were little, they had played on the same youth soccer teams. Jerry had met Lance on the sidelines at many games, and the two proud fathers had become acquainted. Eight months after sitting in Lance’s office, he was sitting in his kitchen when the phone rang. Lance was on the other end offering Jerry a job. In September 1985, Taft got its first true taste of “Jerry’s kids,” as his colleagues would soon call them. Since that first month, students have clamored to get into Jerry’s classes. Year in
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Taft Bulletin Spring 2002
and year out, he carries the heaviest student load of anyone in the department. A couple of years back, Michelle Holmes ’00 told me, “I learn so much in his class, but the amazing thing is, I do it without trying to learn. He has an unbelievable way of synthesizing information so that you learn everything without realizing that you’re learning it all. His style coupled with his contagious enthusiasm makes him entirely unique. I love going to his class.” After Jerry had been here one year, Taft doubled its DePolo stock by hiring Lois, Jerry’s wife and fellow math teacher. “Our whole lives revolved around Taft,” Jerry says. Taft became the center for his family as all three daughters (Anna ’89, Beth ’91, and Sarah ’94) were to graduate throughout the following decade. Lois’ gentle manner and ready smile charmed countless students. She and Jerry formed a great math team for Taft. Their compassionate natures and warm spirits made math classrooms wonderful places to be. For eleven years, we had the joy of experiencing the DePolo duo. Sadly, in 1997, Lois succumbed to cancer. The
entire community was devastated by the loss, and the outpouring of emotion was overwhelming. “We have a tremendous connection here,” Jerry tells me. “The entire DePolo family is proud. The people of Watertown and the parents and trustees of Taft have been incredibly generous.” The Lois DePolo Scholarship annually assists a day student in defraying the cost of tuition. After teaching here two years, Jerry was named head of the Math Department. His philosophy of “math for all” directed the department. John Piacenza explains, “Every school has students that struggle with math, students whom most math teachers find difficult, timeconsuming, and frustrating to teach. Jerry knows how to reach those students. His gift to Taft has been to motivate hundreds of students who would otherwise never have opened their minds to mathematical concepts.” In 1991, when the Abramowitz family created an award to recognize outstanding teaching at Taft, Jerry was the runaway choice as the inaugural recipient. More than 60 percent of the senior class chose him as the teacher
“Our whole lives revolved around Taft,” says Jerry, whose wife Lois and daughters Sarah ’94, Anna ’89, and Beth ’91 quickly became part of the community as well.