you know you're in the middle of America when the first notable sign coming into town is not the green city limits sign, but the high school state championship sign. If you were state champions in Football, Basketball, Baseball, or Cross Country, that year is proudly displayed for school bragging rights. But what you won't see is a proud sign indicating that your school and town was # 1 in successful business owners, # 1 in tech entrepreneurs, or # 1 in inventors in the state. And, maybe, it is time to recognize that kind of excellence. After all, why do we have public schools in the first place?
any state department of education can give you a wealth of raw and analytical data. students not only go through a school system, their footprint, not just academic, follows them through that process. every student who has ever been to Millard Fillmore High can be tracked from freshman entry date and beyond. in less than six years, an estimation of a school's impact on students can be ascertained by following up and crunching numbers to determine what became of the class of '09. while this analysis cannot determine how much the teaching from that school did contribute to the success of that student body, it can reward that school and town for helping that class body reach such success by establishing championships for real world successes.
Imagine coming into town and seeing that your old school and town was awarded a state distinction for being # 1 in producing plumbers, engineers, or certified mechanics? How encouraging would it be to your school and community to have your school and town awarded #1 in patented inventions? # 1 in quality of life? Wouldn't that sign, that distinction, reflect a real school and community of excellence?
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