I think the problems of the Athol-Royalston School District are generally misunderstood. This district was economically destroyed in the 1980’s when most of its major employers shut down. When the dust settled the district was left with a large population of economically disadvantaged students. Nonetheless, Athol-Royalston has maintained the highest academic requirements in the region. Its honors students do well in college, many at top ranked institutions. I believe the district has made a heroic effort to raise all students into the realm of academically proficient. However, motivation continues to be a problem. Particularily, where money is tight at home, students are obsessed with after school work, often to the detriment of their school work. I think the culture is failing to make the case with this population that school work leads to a better future. I think that this contributes to the drop out rate.
WGBH
February 9th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I think the problems of the Athol-Royalston School District are generally misunderstood. This district was economically destroyed in the 1980’s when most of its major employers shut down. When the dust settled the district was left with a large population of economically disadvantaged students. Nonetheless, Athol-Royalston has maintained the highest academic requirements in the region. Its honors students do well in college, many at top ranked institutions. I believe the district has made a heroic effort to raise all students into the realm of academically proficient. However, motivation continues to be a problem. Particularily, where money is tight at home, students are obsessed with after school work, often to the detriment of their school work. I think the culture is failing to make the case with this population that school work leads to a better future. I think that this contributes to the drop out rate.