SPRINGFIELD - I recently sat immersed in work at my computer when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a large manila envelope that a member of my cabinet had left on my desk for me. A teacher had sent it inter-office mail to her. Affixed to the envelope was a note that simply said: "Thought you might enjoy these!"
Inside was a packet of drawings created by a kindergarten class at Beal School. Each drawing was a letter to the student's parents, asking their parents for help in making sure that they would get to go to college when they graduated high school.
Several of the kindergarteners promised to "be good" in college. Some asked their folks to "help them get money" to go to college. A few said they wanted to read big books in college or play college sports.
Others explained that they simply had to go to college because they wanted to be a doctor or lawyer. One child said he wanted to go to college so that he could become president of the United States.
Just two weeks before opening that envelope, I had stood on the front steps of City Hall flanked by hundreds of school children, college presidents, pastors, priests and rabbis, educators, legislators, business owners, community leaders, college mascots, reporters and news crews, community-based organizations, concerned citizens, parents and many other caring adults. We had gathered in support of a city-wide initiative called College?YES!, which was aimed at inspiring and supporting college goals for our students and their families.
The package of kindergarten letters that I unexpectedly received on my desk recently is further proof of what I already knew: that the College?YES! initiative was a worthwhile endeavor with unprecedented participation and success.
Those of us who work in the Springfield Public Schools are lucky enough to see the fruits of that initiative every day. But for many of the businesses and organizations that participated, the weekend-long event may seem to have been just that - just a weekend activity, which existed in a vacuum.
Let the letters that landed on my desk re-assure you of the substantial impact your efforts have made on so many of our students. As a city, we have collectively begun to root college aspirations in the minds of even our youngest students. The children who wrote these letters to their parents, for example, will enter first-grade, sixth-grade, ninth-grade, and become high-school seniors believing that college is a viable, reasonable next step post high school graduation.
Be assured that our schools have built a great deal of college aspiration momentum. Robust conversations continue. Special assemblies highlight career options. The college message is plastered throughout many hallways, classrooms and bulletin boards.
We continue to expand our capacities and we are racing to meet self-imposed improvement goals because we are committed to creating a district where all students graduate college and are career ready.
And we thank the Springfield community for sharing in that commitment.
Daniel J. Warwick is superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools; you can learn more about the Springfield Public Schools online at www.sps.springfield.ma.us
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