As the time for town meeting grows near, I find it necessary to weigh in on the matter of one new elementary school in Ipswich.
Although now in my second year of retirement, I was an elementary school teacher in Ipswich for 40 years.
I was fortunate to teach at both the Winthrop and Doyon schools which provided me with rewarding experiences. Both are marvelous schools with strong, well established cultures.
I would appreciate it if you, the voters, would consider the perspective of a veteran first grade teacher.
Shopping at a big box store doesn’t necessarily provide you with the personal services you can receive at small, local shops.
Children really are not short adults. They are able to thrive more in an intimate setting where they can feel safe and be recognized.
Childhood is a magical time of wonder, or at least it should be.
Housing 775 children in a mega-school means the loss of important components that have been established in the existing elementary school cultures.
All students at the Winthrop School are given walking permission slips on the first day of school which enables them to take part in planned as well as spontaneous trips within walking distance of the school.
These have included such special treats as treks to the Whipple House to experience life in the 17th Century, trips to the Ipswich Museum to observe paintings of Arthur Wesley Dow, walks to Sawmill Point and Water Street with sketch pads in hand to draw some of the places that Dow had painted with an “artist’s eye”, walking across the Choate Bridge (one of the oldest stone arch bridges in the country, then back at school viewing pictures of the Whipple House being moved across the bridge from its original location), learning about the fish ladder while walking over the footbridge then viewing Alan Pearsall’s mural on the walls of EBSCO, walking along High Street to hunt for boot scrapers and hitching posts visible in front of some of the First Period houses, trips to Baker’s Pond and Sally’s Pond (as well as the small pond on the Winthrop School property)
Being located downtown has also given the students accessibility to trips to the public library, fire station, police station, post office, and town hall. All of this is possible when there is a downtown, neighborhood school.
I would like you to consider the loss of the “culture building” of whole grade performances in one mega-school.
Grade level shows that build confidence and allow children to express themselves would be impossible to hold when you are trying to include 120 or more children (unlike 60-plus students who can all be included in their small school setting) for each production.
Then, there’s the beloved whole school Art Show. The intimacy of a whole small school show where families are able to walk to the school, can’t be compared to a mega-school show where those without transportation would not be included.
Crane Beach picnic (which includes the gathering of all elementary students in one section of the beach) was always one of my favorite days, but having that number of pre-K-5 children together every day (including drop offs, pickups and emergency evacuations) does not necessarily sound practical to me.
I could go on and on, but I think you can see, I simply do not think that bigger is better. Teaching children involves so much more than a building.
We know that our main goal is to educate these children who are our future, however, a mega-school will not allow us to provide the nurturing, caring, compassion, and passion that are also integral parts of their education due to the sheer size of the building/population and anonymity of each child.
For those of you who may have forgotten (or never knew) please think about the original intent of Sheila McAdams’ (principal of the Winthrop School) letter to the MSBA requesting funds for repairing/rebuilding one school at a time.
There was compassion and wisdom in that application. Something that held so much promise for one school at a time (which would eventually result in updated facilities for everyone) has turned people against each other in a very divisive manner.
The nurturing cultures that have been established in the two elementary school system work. They aren’t broken, it’s the buildings that need help.
The final outcome rests in the hands of the voters in Ipswich. It is an awesome responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
When you make your decision, please consider your answer to this question: If you could send your child to a close knit, family-type school, would you really want to send them to a large, impersonal, city-type school?
Please think about the children in this town and what they truly deserve.
“Equity for all,” in the current proposal, would result in much less for many. Think long and hard and please choose to vote no for one elementary school in Ipswich.
Ann Marie Tlumacki
Farley Avenue
I feel that two separate elementary schools are essential to the children of Ipswich. The personal and individual attention that two schools can offer to Ipswich children is priceless. Four hundred students in a building compared to almost eight hundred students in a building, no comparison. We are talking about very young children not middle school age children. Remember the first time you went to middle school or high school how overwhelming it was for you. Now think of young children age 3 and up being put in that position. We must keep two elementary schools in Ipswich we owe it to our children.