Benefactor’s legacy supports a new generation of teachers

It was a memorable moment when a scholarship honoree and scholarship recipient met face to face recently. Carol Rothschild, after whom a scholarship endowment fund is named, and Amanda Perry, AS ’07, who held the Rothschild Scholarship for four years, met for the first time in March on the UD campus.

The occasion was the presentation of a resolution by the University’s Board of Trustees recognizing the generosity of the late Steven J. Rothschild, who served on the board from 1998-2004. Mr. Rothschild established and later supported with additional funding from his estate the Carol S. Rothschild Endowed Scholarship Fund, in his wife’s honor, for a student studying for a science education degree.

When Rothschild met Perry, it was a meeting of minds. Rothschild is an experienced, retired science teacher. She taught, with the exception of one year in Maryland, for 27 years in nine different Delaware public schools—the last 13 years at William Penn High School. Perry, on the other hand, had just begun her career as a student teacher at Thomas McKean High School, where she was teaching math to four classes.

The two started talking and exchanging experiences and anecdotes nonstop, with Rothschild looking back on her years in the classroom to offer wisdom and advice.

“Humor is the saving grace,” she told Perry. “If you keep your sense of humor, it can get you through anything.”

On another topic, Rothschild said, “ A school principal counts and makes all the difference in a school and sets the tone. My husband’s theory was, if there was a problem in a business, change the management.”

Another bit of advice to Perry was to visit a school where she was thinking of applying for a job and to make sure to stop by the cafeteria to get a picture of the school’s dynamics.

Rothschild also encouraged Perry to get to know and seek the advice of experienced teachers and said she wished there were more opportunities for teachers to get together during the school day. “Teachers can be helpful to you about lots of things you need to know, and there is no point in your reinventing the wheel,” she said.

Perry is an enthusiastic teacher in the making and told Rothschild she was enjoying the challenges of the classroom. She described some of the mostly ups and occasional downs she encountered as a student teacher.

In the summer, Perry worked at a camp with young children who had autism. At first, she said, she felt overwhelmed but then came to love working with the children. “Every step forward, however small, is so rewarding,” she said.

Perry said she enjoyed her years at UD, mentioning as a highlight her visit to Israel under the Birthright Israel program.

“I was very excited to have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Rothschild,” Perry said after the two spoke. “I have been awarded the scholarship for four years, so being able to finally meet the woman whom the scholarship is named for was very rewarding. She was so easy to talk to and had so much good advice for me.

“The scholarship means a lot to me because it is awarded for something that I enjoy doing, and it is nice to be recognized for doing well.”
During her teaching years, Rothschild raised two sons, Jeffrey and Peter, and also found time to become involved with the Jewish Federation of Delaware and the Science Alliance, an organization bringing science to the classroom in innovative ways.

Since retiring five years ago, she has turned her energies to serving on the board of the Delaware Children’s Museum, which is in the planning stage, and as a trustee of the Delaware Art Museum. She also is working on political campaigns.

In addition to serving on the UD Board of Trustees, Steven Rothschild, who died in 2004, was a founding partner of the Wilmington office of the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; an educator, as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania law schools; and a community leader, who chaired the United Way and served as president of the boards of the Delaware Art Museum and the Kutz Home for the Aged and as a member of the board of Delaware Hospice.

“Steve was a firm believer in giving back to the community that had been so good to us,” Carol Rothschild said.
Among his hobbies, Mr. Rothschild enjoyed running marathons, biking, bread baking, skiing, car racing and travel. He also collected art and was a supporter of living artists.

“It is impossible to try and capture this remarkable multifaceted person,” Rothschild said of her late husband. “Perhaps it is best to remember him as a man who lived each day to the fullest, who loved his family and was dedicated to his community and to the ideals of service.

“One of the nicest things he ever did for me was to establish this scholarship in my name.”