Attleboro school superintendent looks ahead to a new year
Attleboro Sun Chronicle By Dr. Pia Durkin
Summer days and time with family and friends lift our mood and recharge us. In tough economic times, any respite helps us to be resilient for what lies ahead. Those of us who live and work with young people want them to problem-solve, to be responsible, and to be confident in dealing with what comes their way. Part of that responsibility involves risk, not physical risk, but risk equally as challenging in trusting that, even when they make a mistake, they "can do the right thing" and move on.
We connect with stories about people who try "to make things right." Last spring, the Detroit Tigers' pitcher, Armando Galarraga, should have been celebrating a perfect game, but, instead, faced an umpire who ruled a runner safe. On the replay, the player should have been called out. Jim Joyce, the umpire, admitted he made a mistake, took responsibility, and apologized to Mr. Galarraga, who, in turn, accepted it, with a smile. We all can share similar examples of people who risked putting themselves on the line to lend dignity to others and their profession. Here in Attleboro, there are stories of people taking risks every day - being honest about what works and what needs to be improved.
The educational profession has historically been a lonely one. When many of us began as teachers, we were given our class list and schedule. You closed your door and hopefully had a good year. Since then, countless research studies have shown that not only does collaboration with others retain teachers, it leads to strong student outcomes. But, effective collaboration involves risk. In Attleboro, "constructive collaboration" is our vision, and carries all of us on the Journey Toward Excellence.
Five years ago, it was teachers who brought forward the need for a consistent core literacy and math program and then underwent rigorous training that changed how they taught in their classrooms. Today, fourth-graders are headed to middle schools with a stronger foundation. For several years, our writing scores were mediocre and flat. Again, teachers came together with papers from their classrooms to agree on what "good writing" looked like. We learned that our expectations could be higher, and that "good writing" varied not only between schools, but between classrooms. Teachers defined strategies, practiced together, and shared what worked best. We are now seeing our kids soar in how they put their thoughts on paper. We have long been dissatisfied with the low number of high school students taking Advanced Placement classes. With the help of funding from the Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative, teachers were trained in the rigorous content of AP courses. This past year, the number of students taking AP classes tripled, and we just learned that 60 percent of those 250 kids scored a 3 or more, qualifying their work for potential college credit.
These risks are not small. When we, as adults, push ourselves to try new things, aspire to higher goals, and exert more effort, then our children will do the same. And we carry the risk of not succeeding. What if the umpire's apology was rejected? What if teachers never shared their students' work, and covered up their students' lackluster performance? What if AHS accepted that it was "OK" to have so few kids taking AP classes? The "same-old/same-old" would be our mantra. Fortunately, we don't have to answer those questions. In May, the district's Family/Community Survey informed us that 65 percent of the respondents agreed that Attleboro Public Schools are providing a quality education that will prepare their child for the future. Yes, we have come far, but there is still far to go. This coming year, we will continue to take risks and muster resilience to stay the course, despite these difficult times.
Recently, I attended a conference with 50 other school districts and experienced one of those "what-you-wish-for" moments as a superintendent. An administrator from another district came over to Attleboro's table, telling us he had followed our progress. He went on to ask us about our work and arrange for a visit. This does not come as a surprise to me. With a lot of hard work from a lot of good people and a community that supports and expects only excellence from its schools, Attleboro Public Schools is coming into its own, well on its way to becoming the shining star it should be. Welcome back! We will see you in the schools!
PIA DURKIN, Ph.D., is superintendent of Attleboro Public Schools.