The Healey-Driscoll Administration recently announced that March 9th through 13th is Massachusetts Civic Learning week — and our school district was honored to have a visit from state and local officials, including the Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, at Manomet Elementary School and Plymouth South High School to celebrate. This year’s CLW theme is “Civic Learning for a Strong Democracy.”
Dr. Tutwiler and his office, as well as PPS administration, observed a fifth grade Investigating History lesson with Mrs. Strout’s class at MES. DESE’s freely available Investigating History curriculum provides MA students in grades 5-7 with high quality, civically relevant social studies learning.
The Executive Office of Education also came to Plymouth to announce “Massachusetts Revolutionaries: Bold Stories, Bright Legacies,” an initiative in which K-12 MA students are encouraged to submit a project of their choosing that tells the story of a ‘revolutionary’ figure from Massachusetts, particularly those that are not often told. Projects can be made in the form of artwork, narrative essays, videos, or more. This effort is part of Massachusetts 250, a statewide initiative which celebrates 250 years of America’s independence and Massachusetts’ revolutionary legacy.
After reviewing submissions over the summer, the Executive Office of Education will announce a series of statewide winners, culminating in a celebration in tandem with MA 250 in the Fall of 2025. Students should submit their entries by June 30th at Massachusetts250.org.
While in Plymouth, Dr. Tutwiler and co. visited the Pre-K Classroom at Manomet Elementary School, funded by the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Grant from the EOE. Our special guests were then treated by our incredibly talented students in the culinary program at Plymouth South High School, and finally took a tour of Plymouth South’s TV Studio, which recently earned a $200,000+ Skills Capital Grant for equipment upgrades. Dr. Tutwiler and his team were kind enough to participate in interviews with our fifth grade Husky TV reporters at Manomet Elementary, as well as our Panther TV reporters at South High.
“As Superintendent of Plymouth Public Schools, I want to thank Secretary Tutwiler for visiting our amazing community today. It was an honor to host them during such an exciting time for our state and students. The ‘Massachusetts Revolutionaries: Bold Stories, Bright Legacies’ project is a great opportunity to inspire our students to explore Massachusetts' rich history and engage with underrepresented stories. At Plymouth Public Schools, we are committed to civic education, empowering all students to understand and shape their future. This initiative helps reinforce that mission, encouraging students to actively participate in our democracy,” said Superintendent Dr. Campbell.
To view the announcement, watch the live stream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/Xl-cEgDYWuQ?feature=shared