End of the year message

By: Kurt Moellering, Executive Director

The end of the school year brings much to celebrate. Last week we held our Eighth Grade Moving On Ceremony, where we celebrated the accomplishments of our amazing eighth graders as they prepare to take the important next step in their academic journeys into high school. Two weeks before that, we gathered to celebrate our Senior class at their Commencement Ceremony. This graduation featured three student speakers, and we conferred three special awards to members of our graduating class. But there has been much more. We have had Field Day and awards ceremonies. We have gone on field trips and have held final dances and social events. Tomorrow, our high school heads off to beach day. This is the world of schools at the end of the year. We transition from the daily hard work of the past nine months to a recognition of student achievement and celebrations within our community. Even while we are still doing important work like finishing up projects and taking MCAS and exams, we see summer approaching. Our campus is wonderfully vibrant. 

As you reflect on your student's progress this year, I hope you see the academic and social gains they have made. I hope you see how much you have to celebrate. At Learning Prep, we measure progress differently than other schools. We celebrate growth many different ways: Panther Pride slips, a dance attended, a small act of self advocacy, getting your diploma, a social risk taken, a grade achieved, homework completed, chorus music performed, learning a new art form, participation on a sports team, a raised hand in class, a book finished, student council participation, growing a plant in the greenhouse, an organized binder, greeting a teacher in the morning, holding on to that bubble thought, passing MCAS. Our students have achieved so many things. It does not matter how large or small each achievement is to the outside world. If our students do something they could not do before -- if they have pushed themselves to do the next hard thing -- then they have grown, and we celebrate that growth. We are proud of all of them for all they have done.

Personally, I am also proud of some of the accomplishments of our community this year. We have refreshed our mission statement to more accurately reflect our community and our values, and we began school-wide Professional Learning Communities to monitor every student's progress. We continue to improve our communication with you and our district partners, and we continue to become more and more granular in our use of data to inform our decisions. This year has also brought with it more family voices and more family engagement than in recent years. I am deeply appreciative for your efforts to partner with us. As Learning Prep continues to evolve with the needs of our students at the forefront of all we do, I encourage you to keep communication lines open with us. We are better when we are working together.