Melrose is a very special place, and one thing that I think makes Melrose so special is our devotion to working together. You all know that we are a small city that gives us some challenges, but it also invites and encourages us to be neighbors. So when one of our neighbors needs a hand, we all pitch in. 

As you also know, that happens with a lot of hands on deck – from our city administration led by Mayor Dolan, to our many giving and supportive businesses, our civic and social organizations, our houses of worship, our athletic organizations, our fine arts community, and our schools. 

It is with great pride that the School Committee partners with hardworking administrators; certified, highly-qualified, and inspirational teaching staff; devoted support staff; nurturing parents; and enriching volunteers in the on-going work of improving student achievement.

And when we all collaborate, together, we do our best for every citizen, and we do our best for every student.My colleagues and I are fully aware that it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to strengthen and enhance the education of each of our students, with fairness, honesty and openness; with realistic but high-reaching expectations; and with urgency. We are cognizant of the fact that every student is a quilt of gifts and challenges; that each student deserves to be educated in a way that engages them (to the very best of our ability); and that even one day of education lost can never be retrieved. And we appreciate your faith in us (and we expect to hear from you when your faith is tested!). 

Without your help, support, and collaboration, improving student achievement would be impossible. So on behalf of the Melrose School Committee I thank you for the amazing array of ways you give to children. Whether you tutor a student in math, or coach a lacrosse team, or shelve library books, you support education in our community. Whether you donate a soccer goal, or send in a box of tissues to a classroom, fund a budget line item that supports effective teaching and learning, or ask a child if he started his homework yet (sometimes for the 18th time that day!), you support education in our community. Every day that you give even a small amount of time and talent and love to help a child is time of immense value. And it is a gift that can’t – and won’t - be given back– it is forever a part of the child.Our athletic coaches tell us that there is no “I” in “Team”, and Melrose is a team in the very best sense of the word. Together we have the intellect. Together we have the energy. Together we have the passion. And together we have the power, every single day, to make a positive difference in the education and the life of a child.  Thank you for working with us and for letting us work with you.  Together, we make a pretty formidable team.

Margaret Driscoll
Chairman
Melrose School Committee

Rev. Jan 2010

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