Hey Fall River,
Election Day is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4th, and I hope that everyone who is eligible and able takes an opportunity to vote and make their voices heard in the direction that we want to see this city take in the coming years.
There are a lot of candidates who are willing to point out all the things that are wrong with the city and all the things that are wrong with the schools. And I’m not about to tell you that there aren’t things that need to be fixed. I wouldn’t be running for School Committee if I didn’t think that there weren’t changes needed.
But there are also so many things that are good about Fall River. Things that don’t get talked about enough.
Dropping off my daughters for Trick or Treating last Friday, I got to drive through the Highlands. And, at least along President Ave, the streets were PACKED with people. Small children with their parents, older kids and teenagers off in their own groups. Plenty of houses generously offering candy to inflatable dinosaurs, Disney princesses, baseball players and whatever KPop Demon Hunters are. It was an amazing thing to watch for a few minutes while I waited for traffic to clear.
There were also Trunk or Treat and other events to celebrate Halloween throughout the city, both in the schools as well as in other community locations. Countless volunteers giving their time and effort to help spread some joy to others.
Positive things are happening in the schools as well. Durfee Engineering students met with industry leaders at Gilette Stadium for part of STEM week, giving them hands-on experience in areas like Robotics and Manufacturing. Meanwhile, Construction students were getting an opportunity to experience real world applications of what they are learning when they got to participate in concrete work being done at Watson Elementary. Both of these, and similar opportunities in other educational programs offered, will serve our students well as their careers progress.
Durfee’s marching band has been making a name for themselves this competition season, winning or placing second in every show so far this season. This past weekend, they won the State Championship in their class in two different shows. These 30-some students, their dedicated staff and the support of their families show how much we can achieve when people focus their varied skills and are willing to put in time and effort to achieve common good.
I’ve said it before, probably way too many times, making a point to mention it every debate, forum and interview I’ve given this campaign season. When my family moved to Fall River, I read up on the schools. I heard all the horror stories. But our experience here has been so incredibly different than what we feared. The community has been welcoming. The cultural diversity has been amazing. To a person, every instructor we have had contact with wants nothing but the best for all their students. I have to hope that as caretakers of these students, we want the same.
I feel that the path forward for Fall River is by working together. Two of Fall River’s greatest strengths are and have always been our rich diversity and by how powerful we are when we harness our differences and work together for the common good. The School Committee, working with the rest of the government, the administration, the teachers and staff of the schools and the entire community need to work in partnership to help provide the school system that the students, and all of Fall River need and deserve.
I hope that tomorrow, I can count on your vote to be one of the six people entrusted to take the Fall River Schools where we want them to go.
Together.