To the Editor:
As a 30-year resident of Tisbury and recent retiree from 22 years of teaching at the Tisbury School, I would like to share my thoughts concerning the building of the new Tisbury School.
It is in response to recent questions concerning the necessity of building a new school that I offer my experience and firsthand knowledge of the basic needs our present school building is unable to meet for the students as well as for staff.
Throughout my tenure, I had the honor of representing Dukes County on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers. Each year, as I attended numerous state and national conventions, it became increasingly apparent how lacking our facility is in its ability to keep up with the rest of the country in providing top-notch delivery of state-mandated curricula. This is not only true for science instruction, but pertains to the other K-8 rooms as well.
The Tisbury School has for decades made valiant attempts to patch and intertwine additions to its 1930s building parameters in order to satisfy space needs. In spite of all that, today we continue to face serious space issues that interfere with efficient delivery of services mandated by our state and federal government.
Aside from the much-needed upgrading or replacement of critical engineering components, please allow me to list five of the obvious critical needs that will be addressed with building a new facility:
- The K-8 classrooms are cramped and not conducive to providing spaces that allow for project-based and individualized learning (one of the state mandates).
- The “Little White House,” the trailer situated on the West Playground, was never intended to be permanent. It was put there well over 10 years ago to avoid the penalties Tisbury School faced for not having adequate space to house particular state-mandated programs.
- The gymnasium is substandard by any modern measure.
- The cafeteria is so small that lunch periods must be kept to 13 minutes to accommodate all grades within the lunch schedule.
- The kitchen facility is completely inadequate, and startled the needs assessment team sent from the state to review our school.
In closing, I would like to thank the entire Tisbury community and its leadership for the support provided our school throughout the years. Without it, Tisbury School would have been hard-pressed to achieve the honor of being a Blue Ribbon School.
Building a new school is expensive, and all of us taxpayers will carry the extra burden, but I hope we will all follow in the footsteps of the Tisbury residents in 1930. They had a vision and sacrificed for the future. It’s now 2018, 88 years later; let’s follow their lead and build the new school together.
Connie Alexander
Vineyard Haven
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