Upper School Principal Jessica Bagby read this heartfelt dedication to Bill during the final faculty and staff luncheon of the 2010-2011 academic year: "To say that Bill Zavatsky has panache would be an understatement. I have known few individuals with Z’s inimitable flair. Many of his students over his twenty-four year tenure at Trinity have certainly recognized how lucky they were to encounter Bill—a true connoisseur of life, and particularly poetry, music, and film—in their educational journey. How many students have the opportunity to learn to write poetry with a practicing and published poet, after all? Even this year at the senior retreat in a Quaker-style meeting in which the kids had the opportunity express their gratitude to teachers and peers—present and not present—who had a made an indelible impact on their years in the Upper School, Percy Allison gave a shout-out to Mr. Z. for inspiring his passion for poetry and for working with him so devotedly on his own verse.

"Bill’s contributions to the Upper School community and accomplishments as an artist are too numerable to name exhaustively, but I would be remiss if didn't acknowledge some of his milestones. Bill taught the first creative writing class in the history of the Trinity School. He taught the first film courses in the history of the School. He brought the Scholastic Writing Contest to Trinity and promoted it energetically. As a result, Trinity boasts many winners of gold and silver keys for writing, as well as two national winners for their writing portfolios. Bill also has involved Trinity in the Interschool Association’s Independent Voices project, an annual poetry anthology and reading at a Barnes and Noble store by New York City private school students. Bill has been able to bring many well-known writers to Trinity thanks to a fund donated to Trinity by a former student of his. For twenty-four years he helped to shape Columbus into a first-rate literary magazine. This year he delivered a lovely prose-poem speech—with the collaboration of the honorees—at the Cum Laude Induction Ceremony.

"Bill wants everyone to know that he feels 'very strongly about the deep friendships that he has made over the years [at Trinity] with many extraordinary students and colleagues, [that he deeply appreciates] the important work of our wonderful support staff, and [that he] will never forget what a gift it has been to teach and learn at Trinity for so many years. He hopes that you won’t forget him.' I think I am safe in saying to you, Bill, that you are unforgettable. Thank you for all you have meant to so many members of this community during your tenure here."

Bill left Trinity in June 2011 after twenty-four years of service to the School. We thank him for all that he has contributed to our school community.

Bill will be reading poetry and stories at Cornelia Street Café on 15 September 2010 in the season opener of ComposersCollaborative Inc's "subversive nightclub series" Serial Underground. The event commemorates the 30th anniversary of Bill Evans' passing. Bill Evans was a legendary American jazz pianist and composer.

Bill read his poetry at various locations including the New York Public Library, Cornelia Street Café, and KGB Bar. He also participated in the PEN World Voices Festival 2009 in the panel Jazz: The Revolution of Beat at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn on 2 May. He and three other writers discussed jazz and how it relates to the written word, with musical accompaniment by Diane Moser and her trio.