A Son Honors His Mother's Teaching Career

Steven Willard honors Oleta Willard’s career with an endowment fund.Steven Willard and his wife Barbara Hoffman wanted to do something meaningful and impactful for their mother, Oleta Willard, who selflessly gave 20 years to Greenhill School in academic support.In January 2020, they created The Oleta Willard Academic Fund with a generous gift of $100,000.The Oleta Willard Academic Fund honors their mother’s career at Greenhill School as an academic language therapist. Oleta’s work improved the lives of hundreds of students. She enriched their scholarly experience, bolstered academic self-confidence, and enabled them to achieve greater educational success.Stories of Oleta include that she exuded kindness, happiness, patience, genuine appreciation, and fondness for her students. She would wait at the door to her office for each student to show up, and they would light up when they saw her. She was able to connect with each student, regardless of their particular challenge. Her efforts and her expertise allowed many students to have success at Greenhill when they might have struggled otherwise.Oleta was a game-changer for a whole generation of young students in our Lower School.This new fund will support students with potential learning differences and will be directed to evaluation, diagnosis, therapy, and tutoring services. Through this fund, Oleta’s passion and legacy will endure for generations to come. We are grateful to the Willard family for this impactful initiative!