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While sitting at South High’s Senior Academic Awards and North’s Academic Convocations ceremonies last week, it gave me a great sense of pride to see our students receive scholarships and accolades, and learn of their college acceptances. These ceremonies, and graduations later in the week, capped a school year filled with many noteworthy accomplishments. This week, we will focus on how the graduates of the Plymouth Public Schools are now on their way to “Raising Their Bar” and navigating life’s path.
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Why do we educate our children? Besides it being the law, it’s our desire to teach our children to learn how to be self-sufficient. College used to be defined as the desired end and the best chance to get a good job, support yourself and, eventually, a family. Those who may not have been as gifted in the classroom could go to vocational school to learn a trade with the goal, again, being that you could one day support yourself and a family.
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Richard “Dick” Silva, former Plymouth Public Schools assistant superintendent, passed away recently, and I find myself compelled to share my thoughts on the passing of a man that I considered a friend and mentor.
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As a parent, have you ever looked at the things your children are doing in school and thought, I was born too soon? I have – even as an educator who plays a role in what the children in our district are learning. This is particularly true with science.
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When it comes to our Visual and Performing Arts program, numbers typically are musical ones. Yet the data regarding our VPA program delivers a sterling rendition as to why the district embraces the arts as a critical component of a Plymouth Public Schools education.
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In recent weeks, there seems to be quite a bit of energy spent on how much our district spends. Clearly, that concerns us as well. Yet a great focus of our energy is on how we, as a school district, can reduce costs and save. There is no greater example of that than our energy use.
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The town of Plymouth has a population of 58,281. The approximate number of students who attend school in our District is 7,690. That’s spread out over 13 different schools in our District. Off the cuff, you might think that would make for rather large class sizes and student-to-teacher/aide ratios. Yet class size is more complex than simply dividing student population by the number of teachers and paraprofessionals.
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For this week’s article, I want the focus to be on this wonderful community. I am humbled by the magnitude of support we have gained that was demonstrated by letters to the editor, emails, social media posts, phone calls, public demonstrations, and most notably, on the floor of Town Meeting. I know there was a significant amount of concern with a potential cut pending as a result of the motion, and I was amazed to see the support shown by this great community.
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Plymouth Public Schools supports over 1,400 students with identified special education needs across the district. Being able to provide our special education students with programs to support them in their journey is a huge source of pride for our school community. Our district offers multiple programs preK-12 that support students with disabilities in their quest for success.
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It is the stated goal of the Plymouth Public Schools District to encourage children to realize their full social, emotional, physical, and intellectual potential. In this space, on a weekly basis, Plymouth School Superintendent Gary Maestas will discuss the various ways Plymouth Public Schools provide all students the tools to excel and flourish.
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Beginning this week [March 28th], Superintendent of Schools Gary Maestas will author a series of columns that he said will highlight the diversity of programs in the district that cover students with unique needs. “The over-arching theme of all the articles will be raising the bar for everyone, not just raising the bar for a few,” Maestas said.
