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Dr. David Hopson |
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December 18, 2006 As our children count down the hours to the holidays and their vacation from school I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful and joyous holiday season. I hope each of you are able to reflect positively on aspects of the past year and are looking forward to new opportunities in the New Year. Reflecting back on the past twelve months, I see a variety of mixed messages from various sources. MCAS scores in Massachusetts have the state ranked as one of the worst in the nation, yet 4th and 8th grade students in Massachusetts ranked at the very top of a nationally norm referenced test in both mathematics and English language arts, the first time a state has ever accomplished this feat. We consistently hear the cry for improving academic performance, yet we’re supposed to continue to support the arts and provide additional opportunities for students. We hear from the commissioner of education that music plays an important part in student activities yet we see many schools and districts eliminating music from their schools without any repercussions from the state. We see the need to increase resources for our students but still must contend with less state aid for education and a limited local tax base to cover these shortfalls. Throughout all of this education continues, students learn on a daily basis, teachers go out of their way to make a difference, administrators deal with myriad situations, cafeteria workers provide a smile with the lunches, custodians maintain the facilities, paraprofessionals still help students overcome their difficulties, secretaries provide the impetus to keep things running smoothly, and everyone struggles with the seeming contradictions regarding expectations in public education. I recognize that we don’t praise our staff enough for the excellent job they all do and that it’s easier to find fault and complain than it is to look for and work towards positive solutions. I’d suggest that everyone remember the increasing demands of accountability that all of our staff face, yet they still keep a positive attitude towards their students and their responsibilities. Please take the opportunity to share your appreciation for the great job that these folks do throughout the year. The fruits of this labor are not hard to spot but we often forget the successes because we’re concentrating on outside measurements such as MCAS scores. Just this month we saw middle school playwrights work with the Chester Theatre to put on a series of excellent one-act plays; band performances by the 5th/6th grade band, the 7th/8th grade band, the high school band, the jazz bands, our choral groups, and student ensembles; and another successful senior citizen holiday luncheon and musical performance. Our athletes display excellent sportsmanship regardless of their win/loss records, student groups have raised large amounts of money to make the holidays more cheerful for the less fortunate, and overall our students display good citizenship and manners. The point is, these successes are due to many factors—not the least of which is the hard work and dedication of our staff members. Life is what we make of it, or, as Martha Washington said “I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." May you enjoy joyful, productive, and pleasant holidays and may the New Year bring you peace and prosperity. ### |
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