Graduation: an inspiration, celebration and awesome time of year

Graduation is the most important academic event of the school year. It is also one of life’s blessings for families and friends to witness their loved one’s graduation from high school. Beyond the obvious, the Class of 2010 gives me confidence that we’re turning the corner as a District in our efforts to improve the educational opportunities for all students.

The graduation season is one of my favorite times of the school year because it affords me the chance to see firsthand the fruits of our labor. I’m always inspired by the student speeches and this year was no exception. The following is just a snippet of what most in attendance would easily describe as awe inspiring remarks from a few of our graduates:

• Central’s Jeff Barcher (co-salutatorian) athlete and scholar spoke with much conviction on the power of resiliency developed from a great education in an urban center that sets he and his classmates apart from their suburban peers. Jeff will be attending the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts to which he received a Presidential Scholarship;

• Commerce salutatorian, Monalisa Leung spoke passionately about the quality of education she received as an International Baccalaureate (IB) student and the influence of her parents as she prepares to attend the University of Pittsburg to study molecular biology and Chinese; and

• Putnam valedictorian, Andy Yang captured everyone’s heart in sharing his beliefs about the importance of “attitude” and the power of expectations on future success. Although Andy had a scholarship opportunity to attend an ivy league school, he chose the University of Massachusetts in Amherst

While there is still much work to be done with respect to our graduation rates, dropout issues, student proficiency and closing the achievement gap, the Class of 2010 brought home the bacon. For our five high schools across the city, this year there were 1,180 graduates and 75 percent of whom plan to attend college; they have garnered over five million dollars in scholarship awards (double the amount from the previous year). Renaissance, our Expeditionary Learning Program had 100% of their graduates accepted into colleges.

Good things are happening in Springfield and I’m honored to serve as your superintendent with great hope for our future!