By Ellie Norris
I have attended meetings and read many excellent letters regarding the one- or two-school question.
Everything concerning the benefits of retaining Winthrop and Doyon seems clear to me to be desirable, viable and educationally beneficial.
The size of the student population of each school has proven to be conducive to managing and encouraging the development of these young children in a secure environment.
They flourish because they can receive the right combination of personal attention and also the experience of being with others without being overwhelmed.
Each of them has an identity, like a young plant, precious, fragile but ready to grow.
The benefit of the Winthrop school site is particularly valuable because of its location in the heart of downtown, the site of so much history.
It is named after the first governor of Massachusetts, whose descendants still live in Ipswich.
Is it right to wipe away this valued site? There is much to see and do just a little walk from the school.
When the children look around them, what do they see? They learn that they are part of American History.
Everywhere they look, they can see homes that are hundreds of years old, where early settlers lived and can even visit them to see how people lived then.
They see a river which supported commerce by boat, mills, fishing, early manufacturing, and the hosiery industry (an early occupant of EBSCO, a modern industry).
They have access to museums and a welcoming library which offers many wonderful programs for young children.
They have their own playground lovingly built by the support of the community and nearby playing fields by the town hall.
You don’t have to be born here to feel that it is yours. It belongs to all of us.
It is a people friendly environment. That is why there are so many events in and around the downtown.
All the history is not just downtown but it must be rare to have so much in such a relatively small area.
We also honor the contribution of all those who have served our country, such as Paul F. Doyon, after whom our other elementary school was named.
This Doyon school, surrounded by forest and farms as well as homes, is yet another facet of the astounding variation that makes our town unique.
Not only do I believe that our two schools are necessary to serve the needs of our diverse population, but they have been doing it successfully in spite of difficult physical challenges.
The size of each school allows the young children to feel safe and to flourish. The numbers of students are conducive to learning and provide a healthy environment.
Can we not renovate and/or add on to the schools, redesigning and retaining the unique characteristics each school offers?
Or do we wipe away the distinctive features each school offers to our town?
Winthrop and Doyon: landmarks in our history. Successful, viable, loved. Don’t eliminate them. Value them. Keep them.
Ellie Norris
Woods Lane