Stonington ― After 39 years with the Stonington Public Schools and four years at the helm of West Vine Street School, Principal Kathryn Irvine has announced her plans to retire.

“It’s time for me to step back and let my chapter end here and let somebody else’s chapter open,” Irvine said last week.

As she departs, Irvine leaves behind a legacy of excellence and inspiration, according to her fellow teachers and administrators.

Superintendent Mary Anne Butler said Irvine was fiercely dedicated to her students and related a story that she felt defines who Irvine is as an educator and administrator.

She said in 2022, West Vine Street School was awarded a grant for a before-and-after school care program and Butler and Business Manager Alisha Stripling set up a cryptic video conference with Irvine to tell her.

“We made the big reveal, and this really speaks to who she is, her eyes just welled up, and her hands covered her face. She was just overwhelmed emotionally because she knows what a game changer that is for her families, and it speaks to her empathy for her families and her love for the students at West Vine Street School,” Butler said.

Irvine’s career has been marked by many full circle moments and happy accidents, and she said throughout life, doors open to wonderful opportunities and people just need to step through them.

One day after accepting a teaching position in Windham, the Stonington High School graduate learned Dean’s Mill School was hiring. She decided to step through that door, going on to teach third, fourth and fifth grades for almost three decades at the school.

Irvine said she was proud to have been a part of something bigger than herself, and added that teaching has a ripple effect.

Irvine’s father, who taught at St. Michael’s School in Pawcatuck, shared his love of teaching with her. In turn, she shared it with her sons. Today, one teaches at Dean’s Mill School and the other at the ISAAC School in New London.

Irvine also inspired Stonington High School history teacher Ann Marie Houle, who did not know she had a novice teacher when she was in fifth grade, but she vividly remembers how Irvine made her feel.

“I just remember that level of comfort,” Houle said, adding, “You weren’t afraid to fail. She inspired you to try.”

High school Principal Alicia Sweet Dawe was also inspired by Irvine, who was her mentor when she began interning at Dean’s Mill in the early 1990s.

“At the time, I just thought she was just the most incredible teacher,” Dawe said.

In 2014, Irvine became the assistant principal at the West Broad Street and West Vine Street schools, and Dawe, then the principal, became her mentor.

Dawe called Irvine one of the most thoughtful educators she has ever met and one of the kindest people she has ever known. She added she had implicit trust in Irvine because Irvine’s every decision was made for the students.

Irvine noted the greatest challenge of her career was facing the COVID-19 pandemic as the new principal of West Vine in 2020, but her greatest celebration came in 2023, when her staff, students and families were recognized as West Vine Street School was named Connecticut Elementary School of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Schools.

Irvine said her future plans are uncertain, but she is looking forward to traveling, and wants to enjoy her role as a grandmother.

“I think the next chapter is still unwritten. I think there is still going to be an opportunity for me to continue to make a difference, and I’m excited about what doors will open for me,” she said.