Miss Connie’s Lifetime Passion For Teaching Kids Endures

BERLIN — When 90-year-old Constance Sturgis talks, people have a tendency to stop and listen closely.

Sturgis, a retired schoolteacher and African-American community leader, has dedicated her life to educating children, and she has continued that work long since leaving the classroom. In recent years, she’s invited kids to her Berlin home once a month for a group called “Just Us Girls,” where she would talk with young people about history and the challenges they face as African American females in the world today. Yet, as the years have passed, her health has vastly diminished her once abundant community work.

“I move a little slower now, but my mind is still very sharp,” said Sturgis. “These kids today are crying out for our help. Our youth want to escape from using drugs, alcohol, gangs, and they really need boundaries within their lives that provide structure and safety. They are entering into adulthood unprepared and failing at alarming rates because of violence or a lack of resources.”

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