Several students who were selected to participate in a regional
music program were honored by the School Committee last week .
The students, all Holbrook Junior/Senior High School pupils, were
chosen to participate in the upcoming Southeastern Massachusetts
Bandmaster Association following auditions.
Certificates were presented to the students during the committee's
March 5 meeting by Superintendent of Schools Maynard Suffredini, Jr.,
Music Director Michael Herbert, and Music Supervisor Allen Thomas.
The honored students were:
Sopranos: Ashley Grover (Grade 11); Crystal Roach (Grade 10); Nicole
Mastrogiacomo (Grade 11).
Altos: Phelan Williams (Grade 12; Kathryn Thomas (Grade 8).
Baritones: Timothy Gammon, Daniel Gates, Michael Rothwell, Paul
Clougher, and Josh Duprey (all Grade 8).
Tenor: Iman Rastegari and David Thomas (both Grade 11).
Bass: David Thomas (Grade 11).
Trumpet: Andrea Davis (Grade 11).
Clarinet: David Caruso (Grade 12).
The committee and administrators praised the talents of the students,
saying that their representation in the regional program is an honor to
the school and the town.
In another matter, Chairman Michael Yunits said that the country needs
to take a strong look at the educational system and better prepare young
people to work in a highly technical and ever-changing workforce.
Yunits attended the Workforce Investment Board Conference in
Washington, D.C., where educators said that some two million new teachers
will be needed in the nation by 2008.
Math and science teachers will be in the greatest demand, according to
Yunits.
"There are too few people going into the math and science fields," he
said.
Yunits said he learned that the salary gap between those with a high
school diploma and those with a college degree has doubled since the
1980s.
"In the 1980s, the salary gap was 50 percent, but now it's 100 percent
for those without a college education," Yunits said. "The middle class is
shrinking."
He noted that the number of manufacturing jobs is dwindling, explaining
how companies are moving the operations to foreign lands , where labor is
cheaper.
Yunits said that the new technical age requires strong skills and
continuous education.
"What you learn becomes obsolete every five years," he said. "You need
to continuously learn."
Yunits also noted that the United States is the only country in the
world that does not use the metric system or educate students in its use.
"We're competing in the world economy, and unbelievably, we're not
using the metric system," he said. "It's frightening the way we educate
our children."
Yunits is past chairman of the state and South Coastal Investment
Board, which provides career counseling.
In other business, Suffredini notified the committee that Linda Austin
has been appointed as the administrative assistant to the superintendent,
replacing the retired Joan Jameson.
The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for March 19 at 7 p.m.
