I would like to remind people that, yes, Lincoln is, on average, a privileged town, but that doesn’t mean everyone in it is “privileged”. (By privileged, I assume that means a high per household income.) It is easy to see the incredible beauty and assets of Lincoln and its residents as somehow set apart, to be, as it were, even a bit self-congratulatory. Along with an awareness of “privilege”, another “Yankee cultural value” is also thrift. My point is that referencing to well-worn ideas of identity is not really a way to make school funding and planning decisions. Lincoln is one of MANY districts in the Commonwealth of Mass. that are excellent. Not all are on the Route 2 corridor, either. Luckily, in MA, we have many excellent school districts to use as models of success.
For example, in one of the many emails, Southboro was listed as the top performing school at the elementary level. My children were educated in that district. Class sizes were capped at 22 per licensed teacher, and 24 at the regional high school (ARHS—Algonquin). The year my son graduated, they sent 5 students to Harvard. Additionally, ARHS has received the Special Olympics International’s designation as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School TWICE. There are only 160 of these schools in the nation. My point is that it is possible to be excellent in many ways, meeting the needs of all students, without disregarding what is considered “best practices” in other school districts who have documented successes. I would invite us all to look outward as well as inward when making plans for the upcoming years. -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
