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Student Voices, Concerns About School Consolidation
Student Voices, Concerns About School Consolidation
By Carter J. Antos-Ketcham
Next year plans have been made for classes at Vergennes Union High School to be offered to Mt. Abraham. This has created questions and worries for some. There has been lots of discussion in our school district as well as at the State House about consolidating our school districts. MAUSD formed a review team to examine all proposals for consolidation, however, the school district voted a hard no on these proposals. Fifteen Mt. Abraham students responded to a survey about the possible consolidation of their school. When asked if they would enjoy going to a larger school, 60% said they enjoyed the smaller size of Mt. Abe and only 20% said they'd actually enjoy going to a larger school. Sophomore Ada Fisher, said “It allows me to actually connect with my teachers and feel like I have a real community. There is more chance for the admin to interact with students and get to know them, and overall, makes the school feel more welcoming than a large one.”
If a consolidation happened, commutes could potentially become much longer, 53.3% of students who responded believe that the commute isn’t worth it. While 26.7% believe that it is well worth it. “I'd worry going to a larger school would increase my bus ride (already almost an hour both directions) consequently eating into my sleep time and free time even more.” said 8th grader Mathilda Faye. When asked about classes being offered at Vergennes, Faye got right to the point. Stating, “The district voted a hard no to consolidating the school districts, and this feels like it isn't respecting their decision. Furthermore, it feels like a way to cut more teachers by only providing certain classes to the students willing to take a long time out of their learning to take the classes remotely.” Logistically, this is not a great idea, but a nice concept. Faye rightly pointed out that the district's decision against consolidation should be respected, and offering certain classes remotely may undermine that. And while the idea of expanding class options is positive, the limited course selection and logistical challenges, especially with transportation for students, make it an impractical solution to the need of expanding educational opportunities for students.
When it comes to students' personal thoughts on the matter, many conveyed that they appreciate the smaller size of Mt. Abraham. “I’m not good with change,” said an anonymous freshman. Fisher also chimed in on this, saying, “I would really rather not! I like our school as it is - I like my community now - and "upgrading" to have a few more classes, but be ignored by the admin and teachers doesn't really sound great.” Many students expressed this appreciation for the smaller size and close-knit community of Mt. Abe. Of the fifteen students who responded, most emphasized a preference for maintaining the current environment, expressing concern that gaining a few extra classes isn’t worth losing the community they have here at Mt. Abe.
Summer Survey Shows Most People Working or Relaxing
By Jacob Hoag, Year End 2018
In a recent survey about summer, 33 students and staff responded. When asked what their summer plans were, the most popular was relaxing followed by working, and then traveling.
Twenty out thirtythree are looking forward to working this summer, 82.6% said yes. Senior Isabella Lucarelli is looking forward to working at Bristol Cliff´s Cafe and the Bobcat. She said, “I like my boss, the other people I work with, and most of the people hanging out there are cool. The food is also pretty good.”
Nineteen students and teachers are traveling over the summer. Science teacher Mike Williams said, “I am finally going on my honeymoon to South America after getting married over four years ago.” Over 90% of people that took this survey are looking forward to traveling over the summer.
Only 6 out of 33 are going to summer camp, but 66% of them are looking forward to it. Eighth grader Elena Bronson is going to Camp Neshoba North in Maine for a week, and she is looking forward to it she said, ¨I have never been to summer camp.”
All 21 of the 33 respondents who said they´re planning to relax are looking forward to relaxing over this summer. To explain how she relaxes, 7th grader Bella Robideau said, “I’m going to hang out around the house and go swimming.”
Six out of 33 are taking a summer class or doing school work over the summer and ¾ of them are looking forward to it. 8th grader Sophie Venman said, “I will be taking Korean classes from either a private tutor, or independently.” She is looking forward to this because she is interested in learning a new language.
Ten people chose “other” when asked what they were doing this summer and listed activities such as volunteering, going to family reunion, fishing, and teaching American Sign Language.
What People Do on Summer Vacation
By Courtnee Cox, Spring 2016
Do you go on summer vacation? According to a recent survey, 83.3% of Mt.Abe people go away on vacation during the summer break. Over the summer, many of us like to get away from home. There are many things people like to do to relax and have fun.
People get where they're going in many different ways. The majority of people drive with their families when they go on vacation. 75.7% drive, 13.5% fly on a plane, 8.1% travel other ways, and some travel by train. Traveling can be very fun and exciting especially with your family. 84.2% of the Mt. Abe population travels during the summer with their family. If Mt. Abers do not travel with their family over the summer, most of them are at a summer camp. 41.7% go campling, 33.3% go visit relatives or friends, and 25% do other activities.
People travel many places from long distances to short distances. In a recent survey, the Mt. Abe community said they travel anywhere from 10 minutes to 8 hours. Other people from Mt. Abe said they travel anywhere from 15 miles to 3,200 miles away. They also said they travel from half a day to 2 months.
People who took part in this questionnaire don't do exotic things or go to exotic places, they do simple things. They go to the beach, camping, and they go to the city. 55% of people from Mt.Abe go to the beach on a lake or a pond, and 37.5% go to the ocean. 61.5% go camping over the summer. 36.8% travel to the city. 60% of the people who took the survey also go to the mountains. People go to very exciting and different places like Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New England, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York City, Ohio, Brazil, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, and Connecticut.
Summer vacations are a tradition for people in Mt. Abe. When school is out people just want to relax and take it easy.
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Survey results from Spring 2015:
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