Debbie Savas (Walker) 

It is hard to capsulize 50 years of living, so here is the abridged version:


MY FAMILY: I have three children and two grandsons.

Jonathan, (42) the oldest, is an artist who lives in Buck County.  Joanna,  (33) my youngest, lives near Jonathan.
She is married to Andrew and they have two dogs. Joanna is an elementary teacher. 
Jeremy (38) met Stef at Bucknell and they got married. They have two boys, Davis (almost 6) and Nathan (2).
Jeremy is an independent film maker. They lived in Brooklyn for 15 years.  However they just settled in L.A. 
in August because Jeremy is now doing production with Netflix.   I will be visiting them in October. 

After graduating from EHS, I went off to college. I then got married in 1968 and moved to Bucks County, PA.

I continued my education and graduated from Trenton State with an Elementary Ed. degree.  I taught in parochial school before 
my children were born.  Because we lost our first daughter at the age of seven months, I chose to stay home with our three children 
until Jonathan, who was chronically ill, went off to college. I substituted at my children’s school until then. At that time I 
earned my Masters in Reading and began to teach in public school.  After six years in fifth grade, most of my career was spent 
in first and second grades.  It was an incredibly fulfilling time, and I was blessed to be in a wonderful school that afforded 
me opportunities to grow as a person and as a teacher.  The Bucks County Peace Center recognized me as Teacher of the Year for 
my work in conflict resolution during my years in fifth grade.  My district also took note of my efforts, and I received the 
District Outstanding Teacher Award. Afterward I was nominated for State Teacher of the Year for Pennsylvania and was a semi-finalist. 

Following a life changing trip to Haiti (2008) I started a project in second grade that was cross curricular and developed a 
cultural awareness and sense of moral parity.  I wish I had the room to detail all that my seven year olds accomplished 
for 3 consecutive years.  This included the conception and management of a weekly store of mostly hand- made items. 
They used the proceeds to buy beans and rice, then fruit trees, chicks and goats for Haiti. If you notice the progression 
of items, you follow the evolution of thought that seven year olds had.  They came to understand the concept of 
“teach a man to fish”.   I have never been prouder as a teacher than when in the class meeting, they “solved the problem” of 
families running out of beans and rice by providing means of self- support. 

The Haiti project, “Character Coins for Moral Equity” was recognized at the National Character Ed. Partnership Conference where 
I accepted an award on behalf of our school.  We also were recognized as a National School of Character. More important, 
however, is the awakening that took place in those young minds, and an awareness of Haiti that permeated the student body.  
Teaching has been a lifetime privilege and a great honor. 

In my last 3 years of teaching I took trips to Europe and visited England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. 

Following my retirement in 2013, I returned to Spain for a month in Valencia where I renewed my Spanish. I have been fluent, 
but an immersion experience was a dream to be fulfilled.  It tickled me to swim in the Mediterranean which had always been a blue space on the classroom map!

I am living in Florida now and have gotten used to the heat and the lizards!  I have ample opportunity to use my Spanish in tutoring non 
English speaking students in the primary grades at the local public school. I am very active in my parish, St. Joseph, which has 
extensive opportunities to serve the marginalized.  We have a large Spanish community, and I am able to use my Spanish frequently.  
I feel fortunate to have found this community where there are so many possibilities to make a difference in our little corner of the world.

Life is good! 

It is hard to believe that half a century has passed since high school.  I don’t feel as old as the numbers on my drivers’ license declare, 
and I am sure you share those sentiments.  I pray that the years have been good to you, and that the world is a better place for your having 
been here!  All the best to you and yours!

		Debbie