The Danvers School Committee is considering a proposal to rename its high school library to honor Andover native Colleen Ritzer, who was killed by a student ten years ago while working at the school as a math teacher.
Ritzer was 24 when Philip Chism, who was 14 at the time, killed in a bathroom during after school hours on Oct. 22, 2013. Chism is serving a life sentence. The proposal to rename the library was presented by DHS math teacher Julie Glynn, who worked with Ritzer.
“When a library is named in someone’s memory, it strengthens the sense of community by reminding every one of the values and virtue that person embodied,” Glynn told the Danvers school board Monday. “It also ensures that their memory lives on. Not just for those who knew her, but for future generations to come.”
In Andover, the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Fund set up after the tragedy has become a philanthropic presence in Town over the past decade. On Friday, the nonprofit scholarship fund is holding a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Augustine Parish (43 Essex Street).