[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 134 (Thursday, August 20, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E795-E796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE LIFE OF PRINCIPAL NAN M. WOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. TIMOTHY M. KENNEDY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 20, 2026

  Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the late 
Principal Mrs. Nan M. Wood, a woman whose influence can be seen and 
felt throughout our community by students, colleagues, and community 
members.
  Throughout her life, she inspired others with her strength, 
compassion, and love of education, and cherished every moment shared 
with her family and students. Her greatest joy was her role as a 
devoted wife to her husband, the late Mr. John David Wood. Together, 
the loving couple were proud parents to Reverend J. Darryl Wood, Lauren 
Ducceschi, the late Dennis Wood, Minister Linda Parker, and the late 
Laina Kennedy. She later was blessed to become a grandmother, nurturing 
her grandchildren with the same kindness and care she gave to everyone 
in her life.
  Mrs. Wood was born on August 26, 1929, in Buffalo, New York, to Mr. 
Belton McCarley and Mrs. Mabel McCarley. She was raised with the strong 
support of her family from the very beginning, helping to shape her 
into a natural leader in all aspects of her life. She excelled 
academically, attending Buffalo Public Schools from kindergarten 
through twelfth grade, and going on to earn her Bachelor's in 
Elementary Education from SUNY Buffalo State. Following her graduation, 
Mrs. Wood began a nearly three-decade career in education, teaching 
elementary students throughout Buffalo Public Schools before 
transitioning to the role of Assistant Principal at Fillmore Middle 
School, and later to Principal at Buffalo Public Community School No. 
53 in 1972.
  Community School No. 53 was the first Buffalo Public School to be 
under the leadership

[[Page E796]]

of an African American woman. Principal Wood began a transformative 
period of leadership focused on academic excellence, student 
enrichment, cultural exposure, and community engagement. Throughout the 
following two decades, she expanded educational opportunities by 
creating student travel, cultural and academic experiences across the 
United States, Canada, and Europe, while also advocating for additional 
school and community resources. Her commitment to students and families 
led to the establishment of community-serving programs and facilities, 
including a Home Economics Laboratory. By 1987, under her visionary 
leadership, enrollment at Community School No. 53 had grown to 
approximately twelve hundred students, making it the largest elementary 
school in the City of Buffalo at that time.
  Over the years, Principal Wood received numerous awards and accolades 
in recognition of her outstanding service and commitment to education, 
including the P.U.S.H. for Excellence Award, the Black Educators 
Association Educator of the Year Award, the RIT Distinguished Teacher 
Recognition Program Award, and the United Voices of St. John 
Distinguished Service Award. In addition to her educational honors, 
Principal Wood and her daughter, Lauren, were the first mother-daughter 
pair to serve as principals in Buffalo Public School history. Although 
Principal Wood retired from Buffalo Public Schools in 1987, she 
continued to carry forward her love of education, establishing the 
Belton and Mabel McCarley College Scholarship Program to support and 
encourage students across the community.
  Principal Wood was a faithful member of St. John Baptist Church, 
contributing her time and talents by serving as the Sunday School 
teacher, and narrating the United Voices of St. John's Sunday night 
musicals and community concerts. In her time of leisure, Principal Wood 
found joy in life's simple pleasures--traveling across the globe, 
reading to her grandchildren, and cooking for her loved ones.
  Mr. Speaker, Principal Nan M. Wood lived a life of devotion to her 
family, community, students, and faith. Her unwavering commitment to 
those she loved and her compassion towards others had a profound impact 
on all who knew her. Principal Wood was a woman who believed in the 
importance of equitable education, family, and faith above all else and 
worked tirelessly to support those around her. Her kindness, loyalty, 
and warmth will forever be remembered. Let us continue to honor her 
legacy by carrying forward the values she lived by: faith, education, 
and above all, love.

                          ____________________