When colleagues think of Dr. Edward “Ed” Shine, the former Rye City schools superintendent and 50-year career educator, they remember his professionalism, kind leadership, and his thoughtful approach to problem-solving.
Shine, 82, died from Parkinson’s disease complications on April 21. His legacy, say those who knew him, lives through the foundations he built as an educator in Rye.
“I would say that he was a scholar and a gentleman, just a very upstanding guy,” said Kendall Egan, who first met Shine as a strategic planning committee member in the ’90s, and later served under his administration on Rye’s Board of Education from 2007-2013. “It’s the level of thoughtfulness, just in terms of thinking around issues. He was definitely very easy to work with.”
Laura Slack, who served on the Board of Education from 2006-2015, her last four years as board president, said Shine created the basis for the strategic plan the district still uses today.
“He was a hard worker, he was in first, out last, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do,” she said. “I think that made him a good leader because people saw that dedication.”
Photo courtesy of Josh Nathan
Born in Connecticut to Irish immigrant parents in 1943, Shine earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fairfield University before receiving his doctorate in education from Columbia University in 1992.
Music was always a part of Shine’s life — from his time on the St. Joseph Church’s choir in New Haven as a child, to Fairfield University’s Glee Club, to singing at weddings and funerals during college to help finance his studies. He almost always sang “My Way” or “Danny Boy” when he had the chance to perform.
After finishing his degrees, before his time in Rye, Shine was a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, headmaster, and deputy superintendent in various districts in Connecticut and Michigan.
In 1996, he began his 16-year run as the Rye City School District superintendent, where he managed a variety of issues, including special education reform, infrastructure projects, and anti-bullying initiatives. His major achievements while in Rye included establishing curriculum, high academic rankings, and managing enrollment increases.
“It was important (to Shine) to just maintain excellence, and that goes with curriculum changes, buildings and grounds changes, technology changes,” Egan said. “It all just sort of sets the tone at the top.”
Egan said one of the largest projects the board undertook during her time under Shine’s leadership was the reconstruction of Milton School in the early 2000s, a full gut renovation and addition that required bond funding.
“There were definitely some contentious things and some real positive wins,” she said. “I think about some of the things that happened during the construction project … It was not an easy two years, but he was just a pleasure to work with.”
Mayor Josh Nathan, who was president of the school board during Shine’s tenure, said Shine’s leadership always centered on how the district could support each student.
“Everything with Ed was, ‘Is it good for the students?’” Nathan said. “Any time we were doing something, that was always the marker.”
Nathan described conversations with Shine in the district offices, saying the superintendent always fostered a sense of collaboration with his administrative and school board colleagues.
“I learned so much from him,” the mayor said. “I’d bring an idea, and he’d make it better, which is what you want.”
One of those ideas from the early 2000s was to start teaching foreign language in first grade.
“He and his team went out and found all the different ways foreign language was being taught in elementary schools in other places, and they found what they thought would work best in Rye,” Nathan recalled. “So many children coming out of Rye are much more competent with foreign language than they would have been if they had waited until sixth grade.”
As the superintendent for more than a decade, Shine had some tough days, Slack said. But she said he found a unique way to reinvigorate himself.
“He would leave his office, and he would walk into Midland [School] and go sit in a kindergarten classroom,” she said. “He said he was completely recharged because he was refocused on what was really important.
“I always love that story about Ed, because I thought it really encapsulated him perfectly.”
Shine announced his departure from the Rye City School District in 2012, saying in his resignation letter it was “an honor to have been a small part of student and teacher achievements.”
“I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in such a warm, welcoming community — one that truly values the importance of a high-quality education for its children,” he wrote. “I have greatly enjoyed seeing our educational program evolve in such a positive fashion over the years.”
He originally planned to retire after leaving Rye, but only six months after stepping down, he became superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Norwich, Conn., where he stayed for three more years to complete his 50-year education career.
In retirement, Ed and Madeline became snowbirds, splitting their time between Connecticut and St. Petersburg, Florida. He was finally able to read for leisure, walk on the beach, and spend more time with friends and family, especially his grandchildren.
Egan, who considered Shine a close colleague and friend, saw him for the last time in the Sunshine State just a few years ago.
“We kept in touch, he was a good person, a good friend,” she said.
