Public schools are the backbone of the nation. Year in and year out, they provide a safe and secure environment for the development of knowledge and skills while ensuring equal opportunity for all children. Public education allows these students to reach their full potential and, importantly, expands much-needed opportunity for low-income and minority children.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) commissioned Hart Research Associates to conduct a survey in 2017. This research found …
“Three in four
parents (73%) say that the public school(s) their children
attend
provide them with an excellent or good quality education.
In contrast, just 7%
feel the education received by their children
is not so good or poor (another
20% say 'adequate').
“Fully 79% of
parents are satisfied with their children’s public schools when
it
comes to helping their child or children achieve their full
potential, while only
21% report feeling dissatisfied. This
widespread satisfaction includes 82% of
parents in major cities,
77% of African-American parents, 80% of Hispanic
parents, 79% of
low-income parents, and 82% of parents who have a child with
a
disability
“By a ratio of
almost three-to-one, parents say that public schools today do more
to
expand (53%) than reduce (19%) opportunities for low-income and
minority
children to succeed in our country.”
(“Public School Parents On the Value of Public Education.” Findings from a National Survey of Public School Parents conducted for the AFT Hart Research Associates. September 2017.)
According to Public School Review (2022), Scioto County, Ohio public schools have a Graduation Rate of 84%, which is more than the Ohio average of 83%. The Census of 2020 (5-year estimate) reports 85.7% of the people in Scioto County are classified as high school graduates or higher.
For many in Scioto County, a high school diploma represents a student's highest academic achievement, and for others, graduation is a key for continuing their education past the secondary level. That diploma from an area high school is a cherished certificate attesting to the completion of a rigorous course of study. In addition, a graduating senior literally and symbolically confirms the successful product of a public education.
The diploma is more than a certificate of grade-level academic achievement. It also represents a student's involvement in school activities, proof of volunteerism, and decent grades. Consider that this diploma allows a student basic skills admission to college, more career options, more job opportunities, and a higher salary.
In other words, graduation from a public high school confirms the fulfillment of an excellent secondary education. In the United States, where every year over 1.2 million students drop out of high school (a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day), this achievement is priceless. All in all, no intrinsic value can be assigned to this coveted piece of paper.
At this point, I will transition into an admittedly emotional plea for recognizing every student who completed graduation in the public high school in which I taught. In fact, it is the same school that awarded me a diploma in 1969, which became the credential for my undergraduate studies, graduate studies, and professional teaching career.
More than that, my Valley Class of 1969 exemplifies the mutual love and respect in a fellowship of lifelong friends and an attestation for membership in a much larger Purple and Gold legacy filled with regard and tradition. In short, our high school class remains as our most revered aggregation that helped form our future lives. For those who prefer simplicity: Yep, our graduation was a “Big Deal,” surely even more so over fifty years ago.
As a graduate of Valley High School and an ex-teacher there, I submit my views on class composite photos that hung in the old high school but were never displayed as such in the present structure. I took this proposal to the board several years ago, and they did respond with computer generated access to the composites, and later, they constructed a portfolio of them stored in the high school library. Nice, but not the same to me.
I understand the compromise and the apparent restrictions of space, etc. that support their argument that the pictures should not be displayed on the walls. However, I believe every graduate needs to be recognized in a public field of display – fully accessible at any time to all. At one time, this display was a proud exhibit of Valley High School graduates.
Here is my letter of request from years ago. I summit it once more for your comments and possible support. The list of those in favor of restoring the class composites to the wall is not accurate to date. Today is May 11, 2022, and since the last submission, others have expressed interest. With that continued support, I write the following.
Valley Local Board of Education
1821 State Route 728
Lucasville, Ohio 45648
Dear President of the Board:
For as long as most of us can remember, the Valley Graduating Class composites lined the walls of our high school. Since the move to the new high school in 1993, these photos have not been displayed on the walls of the school. For some reason, their presentation was deemed unnecessary.
The composites represented a vital link to the history of Valley schools. The display provided the students and the public a panorama of Valley history. It was an incredible collection that adorned the home of education in our community. The photos on the wall attested to the long heritage of our school.
For many decades, students delighted in identifying friends, relatives, and even complete strangers in the pictures. Not only did the composites confirm the members of each year's graduating class and faculty, but also they provided faces and names so important to the preservation of family and school history. Their chronological arrangement on the walls certified the longevity and continued success of Valley schools.
Thanks to the efforts of the Valley Alumni and the Lucasville Area Historical Society, most (perhaps all) of these composites have been rescued albeit without their frames. They sit stored out of sight, waiting to be restored to their rightful place once more in the present Valley High School facility.
Granted, a computer display (and now a portfolio) of the composites is presently available for public viewing. However, one cannot appreciate the scope of the project as it is depicted on a computer monitor (or a smaller version). In fact, the computer generation pales in comparison to the aesthetic value of the arrangement of the actual composites. The artful presentation of the photos on the wall dignifies the attainment of each class and each graduate of Valley High School. In short, the composites are inclusive evidence of our pride in Valley's greatest asset – the product (as a graduate).
(Also the total effect of the many composites on the wall helped accurately punctuate the long history of Valley Schools themselves – from Lucasville School to Valley Township Schools to Valley Local Schools. A student could actually walk a path through the past featiromg these significant group photographs – pictures that displayed the people, dress, and culture of their education, and they could gain valuable insight into a legacy of educative progress.)
We respectfully request that the members of the Valley Board of Education take action to return the class composites to the walls of Valley High where the students, the alumni, and the public can view the products of the best high school in the area. Please allow these familiar faces to once again grace our alma mater.
In a Facebook campaign, the following Valley alumni have pledged support to the effort to encourage the board to display the class composite pictures. Those entries with a “*” even pledge to help finance the project. The Class of 2017 is the 129th graduating class. (Now, the class of 2022 is the 134th graduating class.) What a long, storied history. We, the graduates before them, take great pride in our Valley education as we intend to support everything possible to preserve the heritage of our schools.
Thank you,
Frank R. Thompson
President Valley Class of 1969
Retired English Instructor – Valley School District
Supporters
Laquita Abrams
Carl Adkins
Tammy Burns Allen
Kenny Alley
Kevin Arnold
Tracey Banner *
Rudy Bee
Fran Doss Bender
Bill Berry
Cheryl Bishop
Jamie Blaine
Vicki Kangelos Blakeman
Brenda Parsley Blanton *
Debbie Blanton
Lovonne Blevins
Marlene Boldman
Angiel Bonfield
Angie Green Boyce *
Dee Strickland Bradshaw
Chad Bragdon *
Dave Brickey
Mileah Briley *
Fonda Doss Brooks
Charlie Brown
Debra Jordan Brown
Terry Cunningham Brown
Linda Morris Bryan
Jeremy Buckle
Arden Burkholder
Terri Burns *
Jason Call
Nancy Call
Julie Howard Carol
Cricket Gullet Carver
Josh Charlton
Amber Cheatham
Rita Chestnut *
Gayla Childrers
Karrie Childers
Firman Clark
Renee Cloud
Alice Cochenour
Chris D. Conley
Barb Gronna Coriell
Jerry Cornwell
Margaret Craig Crabtree
Suzette Personett Crabree
Tara DeAtley Crabtree
Polly Creech
Deena Spearry Crinnion
Missy Cunningham
Angela Gifford Davis
Valerie Legler Davis
Betty Rogers Day
Patsy Galloway Lindamood Deemer
Sandra Del Tiempo
Jim Detty *
Peggy Dillow
Tonya Payne-Dodd *
Drenda Harness Elliott
Joseph Euton
Katherine Euton
William Euton
Becky Ramey Fetters
Paul Flaugher
Howie Fraley
Brigette Woodard Fritz *
Tina Hawk Fuller
Rob Fultz
Lisa L. Fultz
Gail Lewis George
Brenda Lee Gerlach
Skip Golden
Debbie Neal Gray
Marie Laidley Graybeal
Doug Hafer
Lori Reed Hardy
Todd M. Hehl
Katie Spriggs Herrmann *
Julie Hickerson
Nora Adkins Hickman
Dwayne Hood
Ellen Wagner Horsley
Barbara Howard
Sue Howard
Arlena Hughes
Eric Humston
Amy Steele Hunt
Becky Jenkins
Faye Caldwell Johnson
Jovanna Shupert Johnson
Pam Johnson
Walter Johnson
Gloria Killen Jones
Melissa Stewart Jones
Sharon Pressley-Kaltenbach
Terra Kazee
Stacie Kelly
JB Kidd
Paula Sue Killen
Jason King
Courtnie Kuhn
Anna Laidley Conley Gibbs
Susan Ramey Laidley
James Layne
Cathysue Lindamood
Cammy Jane Bair Lowe
Marsha Lutz
Chris Lynd
Jennifer Lynn
Amy Merritt Mains
Angie Malone
Dennis Massey III *
Nancy McKenzie
Larry Mefford
Kristi Melvin
Mandy Merritt
Shirley Mays Millar
Gary Trish Mollette
Kitty Moore
Mike and Tammy Montgomery
Julie Mosley *
Phil Mowery
Britney Gahm Mullins
Ann Myers
Gary Neeley
Mary Adkins Newmark
Shelly Nickles
Chris Nourse
Melinda O'Conner
Jan Merritt Osborne
Olivia Smalley Parks
Kimberly Patrick
Laura Beth Payne
Kimmi Jo Pelfrey *
Laura Phillips
Wicki Daum Phillips
Susan Steele Potter
Robyn Doss Preston *
Courtney R. Price
Michael Price
Sherri Putman
Yolanda Queen
Bob Salyers
Keith Rayburn
Kimberly Osborne Rayburn
Ryan Rayburn
Vickie Rayburn
Jennifer Ratliff
Michael Reinhardt *
Tonya Adcox Ries
Donna Brigner Robinson
Ralphie Roberts
Jeanne Nelson Runyon
Kelly Barnett Schmitt *
Linda Scott *
Rhonda Shaver
Luana Jean Shipp
Vicki Shoemaker
Debra Smith *
Kay Smith *
Laura Egbert Smith
Marci Spearry Smith
Skeeter Smith
Connie Davis Spann
Belinda Spencer
Brenda Spencer
Jeanie Stambaugh
Denise Bihl Sterritt
Melissa Stewart
Jennifer Hawes Stidham
Deborah Bear Strouf
Anthony Tackett
Trace Tackett
Kelly Taylor
Frank R. Thompson *
Cindy Merritt Thompson *
Sherri Maynard Timmonds
Mandy Voorheis Traylor
Bethany Buckle Treece
Steve Turner
Amber Stout Turnage
Kelly Valandingham
Rhonda VanCooney
Bobbie Wagner
Lynn Wagner
Jodie Walker *
Roger Walters
Amy Glaze Wells
Missy West *
Stephanie Gail Williams *
Debbie Holsinger Williamson
Charles Even Wills
Kathi Gundlah Wilson
Amanda Windle
Peggie I. Witter
John Woodard
Ryan Woodard
Shannon Woodard
Debbie Flaugher Woodford
Whit Yates
Beckee Lindamood Yazell
Wedny Leah Aeh Yost
Bob Zeek
John Zeek *
To close, I would ask someone with a sincere conviction to getting the composites displayed at the high school to spearhead a new movement. I have tried to do this, and I am now 71years-old and too short on patience and time. I do not think I am the person to make another request. Perhaps what I ask is no longer feasible or worthy of consideration. Maybe the upkeep is too much to ask. I don't know.
Someone even suggested the hanging pictures would present a safety hazard in that they could fall and injure a passerby. Or, possibly, people just think the composites are unattractive and ostentatious. I believe just the opposite – they help build the character of the physical building. They accentuate the human aspect instead of improvements to the structures.
I know only my view on the matter – one that I have developed with significant input from others. Some lately have added their support. For that reason, I once again write about the defunct efforts of the past.
I can respect the opposition and the eventual inaction. What I write today is heartfelt as a reflection of my own experience. Nothing can diminish my love for the school, no matter what I believe about the value and interest generated in returning the composites to the wall.
I do know what the display meant to me. I miss it … it used to be a comprehensive, permanent public exhibition in Valley Local public schools of members of the Lucasville community. Like an old friend behind an open door, the presentation greeted every visitor to the school with a picture of each individual face of success throughout the institution's long existence. And, it wasn't hidden behind a computer screen or locked in the library. The long, proud display drew the attention of all who walked the halls.We celebrate shiny new improvements. Should we also uplift the memories of the past?
from Morituri Salutamus
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Poem for the fiftieth anniversary of the Class of 1825 in Bowdoin College
How beautiful is youth!
how bright it gleams
With its illusions, aspirations, dreams!
Book
of Beginnings, Story without End,
Each maid a heroine, and each
man a friend!
Aladdin’s Lamp, and Fortunatus’ Purse,
That
holds the treasures of the universe!
All possibilities are in its
hands,
No danger daunts it, and no foe withstands;
In its
sublime audacity of faith,
“Be thou removed!” it to the
mountain saith,
And with ambitious feet, secure and proud,
Ascends
the ladder leaning on the cloud!
As ancient Priam at the
Scæan Gate
Sat on the walls of Troy in regal state
With the
old men, too old and weak to fight,
Chirping like grasshoppers in
their delight
To see the embattled hosts, with spear and
shield,
Of Trojans and Achaians in the field;
So from the snowy
summits of our years
We see you in the plain, as each appears,
And
question of you; asking, “Who is he
That towers above the
others? Which may be
Atreides, Menelaus, Odysseus,
Ajax the
great, or bold Idomeneus?”
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