An Epilogue
How does it end?
I have been wondering this for weeks now. Until now, I've had no clue how to find out. The Math MCAS was administered in May. I can only assume all of my students from Lawrence took it. Graduation happened last week at our school, and I know for a fact it has already happened in Lawrence. This has an ending, I thought last night. It's done.
And so I searched. I thought that local newspapers might post the names of graduates local to them, so I search for the Lawrence paper. And right there, staring me in the face on the website, is an article.
State control of city schools to continue for three more years.
After everything I've read about Lawrence and all they've done to turn their schools around, and after I meet outstanding people and teachers in a program designed to accelerate student achievement, three more years of receivership. Hard to believe.
But after enough searching, I find what I'm looking for, and sure enough, every one of my kids is on a list of graduates.
They made it.
Or did they? See, this is where it is a movie moment, where the audience would be left to their own conclusions about what happened. Did every kid I had really pass the MCAS? Did they just meet graduation requirements and get one of those 'certificates of completion' and not a diploma? Maybe some made it and not others?
Who knows.
I like to think they made it. I can't come to any other conclusion. Why put their names on a list if the school didn't know for sure? Why put their names (and pictures) in public for all to see?
Maybe it's blind optimism, or maybe it's cold logic, but I'm sticking with it. They made it.
I have been wondering this for weeks now. Until now, I've had no clue how to find out. The Math MCAS was administered in May. I can only assume all of my students from Lawrence took it. Graduation happened last week at our school, and I know for a fact it has already happened in Lawrence. This has an ending, I thought last night. It's done.
And so I searched. I thought that local newspapers might post the names of graduates local to them, so I search for the Lawrence paper. And right there, staring me in the face on the website, is an article.
State control of city schools to continue for three more years.
After everything I've read about Lawrence and all they've done to turn their schools around, and after I meet outstanding people and teachers in a program designed to accelerate student achievement, three more years of receivership. Hard to believe.
But after enough searching, I find what I'm looking for, and sure enough, every one of my kids is on a list of graduates.
They made it.
Or did they? See, this is where it is a movie moment, where the audience would be left to their own conclusions about what happened. Did every kid I had really pass the MCAS? Did they just meet graduation requirements and get one of those 'certificates of completion' and not a diploma? Maybe some made it and not others?
Who knows.
I like to think they made it. I can't come to any other conclusion. Why put their names on a list if the school didn't know for sure? Why put their names (and pictures) in public for all to see?
Maybe it's blind optimism, or maybe it's cold logic, but I'm sticking with it. They made it.
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