Benton Stark, longtime North Shore High School history teacher, dies at 83

Benton Stark’s history classes challenged students to see more in the world — and often more in themselves.

“Like many high school students, I was gauging different career paths and interests,” said former student Roxanna Cervasio-Otero, of Glen Cove. “After being in his class, he did it for me.”

Stark, who taught history for more than 30 years at North Shore High School in Glen Head and helped develop its integrated studies program, died of natural causes on Sept. 16 in his Levittown home, surrounded by family. He was 83.

Howard Ludecker, of Southold, who taught alongside Stark for 15 years, called him “the most effective teacher” he encountered in his career.

Armed with what Ludecker described as an “encyclopedic knowledge” that stretched across nearly any subject, Stark turned down opportunities to move into administration because he believed education belonged in the classroom.

“There was almost no subject that you could bring up that Ben didn’t have knowledge of and an opinion about,” Ludecker noted. “At the same time, he displayed no ego.”

Bringing history to life

The two teachers developed a program that examined societies through their cities and the lives of ordinary people. Students read scholarly works such as “Daily Life in Ancient Rome,” heard from guest speakers and traveled to New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston.

Classes met in extended blocks, and students pursued research and apprenticeships that could take them beyond school.

Ludecker recalled encouraging Lucia Cifarelli, a student interested in music, to apply to the program. She landed an apprenticeship at a Glen Cove recording studio, where she gained confidence and experience before going on to become a professional singer.

The approach became a model for other senior-year programs. By the time Ludecker left, seniors participated in one of four integrated programs, he said.

Former student Cervasio-Otero remembered the energy Stark brought to the classroom, moving between desks, posing questions and pulling students into the material.

“Dr. Stark made those works come alive,” she said. “It wasn’t just teaching from a textbook. He would make it real. He would make it interactive. He would get students involved.”

That energy came with clear expectations about how students treated one another. Cervasio-Otero recalled Stark stepping in when a student was being harassed.

“He said, ‘Oh no, not in my classroom,’ and he stopped it,” she said. “He demanded it be a safe space.”

Cervasio-Otero, now in her 21st year in the classroom, said Stark’s example helped shape the educator she has become.

“Dr. Stark taught me that the curriculum and the content sure is important, but empathy as a human, empathy as an adult to a student is paramount,” she said.

More than a pastime

Stark, who was born in Brooklyn, moved to Levittown at age 10 and graduated from Memorial High School. He passed up a professional contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, instead playing baseball at Adelphi University before earning a doctorate from Columbia University on scholarship.

“He didn’t want to waste that opportunity. Pursuing an education was just too important to him,” said his son Roland Stark, of Massapequa.

Baseball remained a lifelong passion. Stark collected players’ autographs and wrote the 1991 baseball history book “The Year They Called Off the World Series: A True Story,” about the canceled 1904 championship.

For all the hours Stark spent reading, preparing lessons and writing college recommendations, Roland Stark said his father always made time for his sons, coaching them in baseball and basketball and never turning down a chance to play with them.

“If we needed something, he would just drop what he was doing in a second,” Roland recalled.

Stark was a Yankees fan and went to games with Roland and watched baseball with him at home, a ritual that continued into his final days.

Besides Roland, Stark is survived by daughters-in-law Theresa Stark, of Levittown, and BettyAna Zeballos-Stark, of Massapequa; and several grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Melinda, and son Ian. Stark was cremated, and his ashes remain with his family.