Susan Soltis, a retired North Shore High School English teacher, has died after a brief illness. She was 68.
Soltis, who joined the district in 1990, retired in 2021 after 31 years in the district. A member of the English department, Soltis taught AP Language and Composition, IB Language and Literature and ninth-grade regents and honors courses.
Her sister, Robin Davis, said Soltis followed her parents’ footsteps by teaching. Davis said their mother was a kindergarten teacher, and their father was a graduate school professor.
Eric Contreras, the high school’s principal, said Susan Soltis’ work in the North Shore community had a long-term impact on students and staff members. He said Soltis was “a revered teacher making a difference.”
Over the years, Soltis—known as the “Grande Dame” in the English department—advised the National Honor Society, the high school’s quiz-bowl Challenge Team, the Gender Equity Club and “Mosiac,” the school’s literary magazine, said English teacher Sara Millman.
Millman said she also helped start the READ, the Racism Educaton and Discussion Club, in 2021 and advised it after her retirement in 2022.
Prior to teaching, Soltis was a freelance author specializing in computer-related topics, Millamn said.
Contreras said Soltis was a “transformational” teacher who was “universally respected” by her students. Although none of the students in the building currently knew her, Contreras said many of the alumni who have passed through her classroom “think fondly of her.”
“Ms. Soltis was truly one of a kind. She pushed me to improve and to take what I write seriously, all without building any kind of resentment on my end,” said North Shore alum Tim McGovern, who graduated in 2006 and has since worked as a reporter and editor.
“It is rare to tell someone their flaws and at the same time, inspire them to fix them,” McGovern said.
“Ms. Soltis was one of a kind – the kind of teacher whose respect you felt proud to earn and whose impact has lasted on me after high school,” said her former student Brianna Lee, a now award-winning filmmaker.
Contreras said it was “special to see” her work at the school.
Soltis is survived by her sister. Davis said any donations in her memory can be made to the Jonas F Soltis Fellowship in Philosophy and Education at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University.
