Middletown High School Has Changed

To those who graduated from MHS before 2000 and still live in the area, I’m telling you that education in Middletown has changed. The school administration would have you believe that the current status is the result of reduced state aid and inadequate local funding, an easy answer for a more pressing problem that is going to get progressively worse. The real culprit is reduced enrollment.

Fewer students means less opportunity at greater cost.

How do I know this? Because I was an administrator in 5 districts of varying sizes in 3 states: the class scheduler for 1,600 students in a RI high school, 400 in a CT regional 7-12, and 200 in a MA 9-12, and the Deputy Superintendent in charge of Curriculum & Operations in the largest regional district in MA (the last 2 immediately following the passage of the MA Ed Reform Act that has resulted in an outstanding state-wide program.

Change is hard, and waiting for the state to revise its standards means that, even if work is done to improve curriculum, it will take years to filter down to the individual districts. Meanwhile, the current generation of students will fall through the cracks. Of course, the top students will always get what they need while the majority are stuck in mediocrity – at increasing costs per student.

Please do not dismiss the above as “gloom and doom” criticism. Those of you personally acquainted with me will know that I am a positive person. But I am also an activist. If something can be done to improve a situation, I will pursue it relentlessly, and that is the reason I have consistently advocated for high school consolidation. Common sense says that double the students in one facility rather than two provides more opportunity at a lower cost – especially in light of a potential 55% reimbursement.

What are the hangups that are getting in the way?  Issues such as control, provincialism, and resistance to change, none of which speak well for their advocates. These issues are emotionally-based and irrelevant to the improvement of education for students and lower cost to taxpayers. To those who would raise the flags of fear, I say “Get out of the way.”

Our children’s future is at stake. Let those of us who care about future generations and the ability of our children to succeed in life address those important considerations and leave the self-centered protectionism behind. 

Previous generations were kinder and more civil, looking to the future and making it better. Yes, there will be issues that need to be resolved, but we must not lose sight of the big picture. The future is in the children. Let’s put them first.