2007 CONVOCATION ADDRESS

by Pete Scully

-What an inspiration it is to be in the company of this special group of alumni!-

It is hard to ignore the signs.

Parking lots have become increasingly full with cars.

The Copy Center is humming away.

The Band has been practicing on the front lawns of the high schools for weeks.

Football players running around in practice jerseys.

Ice Cream Socials are brimming with parents and kids at the Elementary schools.

Students are checking class lists, getting books, and are out shopping for supplies.

Cups with names and ages are re-emerging on the high school fences.

Excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, and angst hang in the air.

And then there are the students’ emotions.

-The first day has finally arrived!...kind of.  Welcome to the 2007-2008 school year.  My name is Pete Scully and I am the president of the Worthington Education Association.

As a Chemistry teacher at Thomas Worthington High School, I gained an insight into the Worthington Schools that was relatively unique if you think about how the community-at-large understands the Worthington Schools.

-A report issued last year to the Board of Education indicated that

45% of Worthington community members get their information about our schools through the local newspapers

Have you read the letters to the editor?

I always read those letters and they got so bad during the height of the levy repeal effort, I almost left the teaching profession. 

At some point, reading week after week, it dawned on me that the people who wrote into the paper were always the same.  They were a handful of people who created an awful perception of the schools and none of those mean-spirited letters had much to do about education.  They were all about one thing, money.

I was only interested in one thing: being instrumental in helping to deliver a high quality public education.

-I would venture to guess that most people in this room would agree with William Butler Yeats when he wrote, Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

 

We have some pretty exciting fires that are burning right now. 

From Project Lead The Way, a new pre-engineering sequence at the secondary level, to

Phoenix, the alternative middle school program, to the implementation of

MAP Testing, a tool that can help a teacher tailor instruction based on an individual student’s readiness

These are a few of the many “fires” throughout the district.

Each of these “fires” required a lot of collaboration and vision by dedicated people.  They all have the potential to change students’ lives.

-In this auditorium we have community members, classified staff, certified staff, and administrators who are all dedicated to educating students of the Worthington Schools.  It is crucial that we recognize how important it is for this nucleus of concerned citizens to work together, fight together, and help students achieve together. 

Imagine the excitement around the Worthington Schools and the community involvement we could inspire as a group by writing letters to the editor, or contacting the local paper when we are thankful or proud of an event that happened or is happening in the schools. 

There is a Native American saying regarding involvement that reads, Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand.

How amazing would it be to see the impact of greater community involvement on our schools!

How would schools look different as a result?

How would it affect student learning?

How would it affect instruction?

How would it affect program development and course offerings?   

How would it affect school support from those who do not have kids in school?

How many Board of Education races would be run unopposed?

-If we are dreaming of what could be?  Here are a few thoughts I will leave you with.

What if the Worthington Schools had students attending schools not based on a boundary, but on an area of interest or style of learning?

What if it was okay for every building around the District to be different?

What if 185 days didn’t necessarily mean school was not in session from June to August?

What if students, teachers, parents, and community members were given the authority to collaborate and substantively change a school building for the better?

What if reading the letters to the editor attracted and inspired educators?