by Jen Myers

As headmaster of Lowell High School, Bill Samaras (LHS ’59) could be stubborn, relentless, exhausting, and, as he readily admits, “difficult to work with.” He gave every superintendent he worked under a run for their money.

But it was always for the same reason: he was looking out for his kids.

“Bill had two families,” said retired Deputy Superintendent of Schools Ted Rurak (LHS ’66). “His second family comprised over 3,500 students who attended Lowell High and were better known as ‘Bill’s kids’.”

When Rurak oversaw federal funding for the district, Samaras pushed for extended learning opportunities at LHS. Within a year, an after-school program had expanded to include before-school, evening, and Saturday programming.

“Bill’s lifelong work as an educator was to always welcome, assist, and provide opportunities for all students,” Rurak said. “In particular, refugees, immigrants, second language learners, students with special needs, and students that were financially disadvantaged or homeless.”

Samaras was constantly pursuing new partnerships and funding sources to expand opportunities at Lowell High and rarely took no for an answer.

“I would congratulate him for his efforts to secure additional funds for his school,” Rurak recalled. “And he would stop, and you could see his twinkle in his eye. And he would say, ‘Ted , this is just the beginning. Next time, I’m asking for more’.”

On Saturday, the Lowell High School Office of Student Support Services was officially named the William J. Samaras Student Center, honoring his 19 years as headmaster and his unwavering commitment to “his” kids.

The ceremony was attended by former colleagues, friends, and family, including his wife, Joyce; sons, John and Chris; daughter-in-law, Jen; and granddaughter, Audrey. His granddaughter Caroline is away at college.

Samaras retired in 2010 after 45 years with Lowell Public Schools, but his public service was far from over. He went on to serve four terms on the Lowell City Council, including one as mayor. He currently chairs the Lowell Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and serves on the city’s School Building Committee.

Earlier this year, the City Council unanimously approved a motion by then-City Councilor Danny Rourke and Councilor Vesna Nuon to name the center in his honor. The School Committee followed suit.

Nuon called Samaras “a transformative figure in Lowell” who led Lowell High with a “respect for students, a commitment to diversity, and a passion for learning.”

Former Mayor Rourke (LHS ’93), who emceed Saturday’s ceremony, joined the City Council in 2014 alongside his former high school principal. The two sat next to each other, learned the ropes together, and forged a friendship.

That friendship fractured in 2017 during the bitter battle over the future location of Lowell High School. Rourke staunchly supported moving the school to Cawley Stadium, while Samaras was equally determined to keep it downtown.

City Manager Tom Golden (LHS ’89) couldn’t resist revisiting the feud.

“Today is truly a historic occasion – Danny Rourke, finally, bending the knee to Mr. Bill Samaras that Lowell High deserves to be downtown,” Golden joked, needling his cousin and friend, Rourke. “You would not know it, but these two were arch enemies at one point in time.”

The two eventually repaired their friendship.

“It’s funny how friendship starts and it can end but then it comes back again when you realize we are all on the same page,” Rourke said. “We all want the same for the City of Lowell and that is to be the best we can be.”

Mayor Erik Gitschier, who has had his own disagreements with Samaras over the years, praised his dedication to others and commitment to public service.

“Even when I disagree with him I still get a nice phone call from him – he has a nice way of saying everything to make you feel bad,” Gitschier laughed.

Golden, who considers Samaras a mentor and friend, said his advice, however blunt, always comes from a place of caring.

“Bill’s advice is very direct, always, but he always does it to make sure that you can be a better person, to make sure the foundation that you’re standing on is stronger,” Golden said.

Superintendent of Schools Liam Skinner said Samaras became his role model when Skinner was named principal of the Daley Middle School in 1999.

“Bill was not just a role model for me, but for all of the other administrators in Lowell as well, because in addition to his experience, he had a wisdom,” Skinner said. “When he would speak everybody listened.”

While other principals were consumed with the daily demands of running a school like making sure students got on and off the bus safely and that there were staff monitoring the bathrooms, Samaras was thinking bigger.

“Bill was more visionary,” Skinner said.

Recognizing the challenges students faced transitioning to high school, Samaras established the Freshman Academy. When he saw Lowell’s brightest eighth graders leaving for private schools, he created the Latin Lyceum, an exam school within LHS.

“He saw what the problems were and he took care of them,” Skinner said. “He was a fierce promoter of Lowell High and a fierce defender of Lowell High, and of Lowell as a city; to him they were one in the same.”

Samaras also established specialized academy programs and supported the creation of the school’s first gay-straight alliance.

During his tenure, LHS was recognized as an outstanding urban high school by U.S. News & World Report and ranked the state’s 25th-best high school by Boston Magazine. The school also underwent a $40 million renovation in 1996.

Samaras helped establish the Distinguished Alumni program and the Campaign for Educational Excellence, an endowment administered by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. Since 2002, the fund has grown from $460,000 to $8.7 million, awarding $700,000 in scholarships to LHS seniors last year.

But Skinner said what made Samaras an exceptional leader wasn’t simply his vision. It was his empathy.

He recalled a teacher complaining about a student who routinely failed to complete his homework. Samaras explained that the student worked after school, then went home to cook dinner for his family.

“It was the empathy he had for his students, he understood what they were going through, and he looked out for them,” Skinner said. “That’s what a role model is not just a role model for a leader, but a role model for how to live a meaningful life, how to devote yourself and do good work in your community, and how to make a difference.”

For all his accomplishments, Samaras was quick to deflect the praise Saturday.

“I had the best students in the Merrimack Valley and I had great parental support,” he said. “We had success, because we had teachers and administrators who were knowledgeable, dedicated, and who worked hard to meet the needs of the students.”

Of course, some of those teachers and students were members of his own family and they weren’t always inclined to make his job easier.

His wife, Joyce, was a teacher at LHS before he became an administrator. When Samaras considered transferring her to another school to avoid a potential conflict of interest after becoming headmaster, she threatened to file a union grievance against him.

“She was really a good teacher and she had an independent spirit,” he said. “When the teachers went on strike, I would look out of my office, and see her with her sign that said ‘down with the administration’.”

Then there was the day Samaras spotted his first group of students cutting class downtown. Apprehending them was easy because he recognized one of the truants – his son Chris.

And one morning, his administrative assistant, Sue Francisco, asked whether he had seen the school newspaper. He hadn’t. The front page featured a photo of two young substitute teachers, Jay McMahon and Samaras’ son John, under the headline “Hot Subs.”

“My family made it interesting for me at Lowell High School,” Samaras laughed.

Samaras spoke of law enforcement officials, business leaders, higher education leaders, philanthropists, and many other community members who were quick to step up when he called to fill a need at the high school. 

“The high school was blessed, because we did get so much support from so many people,” he said. “I guess sometimes I ask for too much, but the one thing I realized is, there’s no harm in asking.”