Updated 2/12/2024: The full press release can be viewed here.

The distinguished service award is given to a member of the Oyster River community who has volunteered their service to our school community. We are pleased to name Amy Sterndale as the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Service Award.

Amy has given a lot to the district both as a parent and Durham resident, and on the evening of February 6, 2024, she was recognized for her unwavering commitment and dedication to improving our communication practices.   

Amy volunteered many hours of her own time to bring her expertise in communications to the district as an integral member of the Superintendent’s Communication Committee. As a key member of the committee, she created and presented information to the School Board on multiple occasions. Her presentations laid the groundwork for district discussions around effective communication and the need for a communication coordinator. Amy guided the district as we embarked on our journey to design the communication coordinator position and collaborated with our team throughout the hiring process. 

Superintendent Morse said, “Amy has volunteered throughout my time as superintendent, as a parent and as a communications professional. Her work over several years on the Communications Committee, informed and organized the district’s goals of improving our efforts to better communicate, to set priorities, and to reduce redundancy. Amy’s expertise in communication was invaluable to our efforts.” 

Genevieve Brown, Oyster River’s Communications Specialist, shared, “Amy's commitment to the ORCSD community deserves to be celebrated. She has been a steadfast advocate for district students and families and a wonderful resource. Her generous support helped the district shape and implement its proactive communication practices.” 

Former School Board Chair Michael Williams expressed, “Amy has been extraordinarily generous with her time, expertise, and commitment. Just one example was when we were working to understand the district’s communications needs and turn them into action. Amy stepped in to analyze thousands of pieces of input from parents, school staff, and community members, used her professional expertise to suggest both the What and the How of a path forward, and then served as an interim volunteer communications manager, working with administrators to improve practices and hire a dedicated communications specialist. Along the way, Amy approaches every situation with grace as an opportunity to learn and share in ways accessible to everybody. It was Amy’s contribution that really moved communications practices forward. I enjoy working with Amy and am always extremely impressed with her work, whether it’s coaching on emails or making sure hundreds and hundreds of brownies get to the right places around exam time at the HS or any of the myriad other ways she has helped our school community over the years. I can’t say enough thanks to Amy.”   

We are very fortunate to have Amy as a member of our community and we are excited to celebrate her dedication and commitment to Oyster River with our 2024 Distinguished Service Award.