Former John Lyman School Student 'Outraged' by Planned Closure

(Editor's Note: This was written by former Region 13 student Caroline Gervais.)

Dear RSD 13 Board of Education,

I am an alumni of RSD 13 and like many of my peers, I am absolutely shocked and saddened by the decision to shut down the Integrated Day program. As someone who owes both my academic ability as a student and his ability as a person and member of society to the Integrated Day program at John Lyman School, I am very disturbed and honestly outraged by this decision by the RSD13 Board of Education.

The ID program is an essential part of this town and the people in it, and I think I can speak for every family who has gone through this program that it has positively shaped every one of us. The community built from it, the academic achievement of its students, and the social and personal skills developed from it are all quintessential to the towns of Durham, Middlefield, and Rockfall, as well as every place former John Lyman students have moved to.

The ID program is so incredibly unique, and as a result it creates incredibly unique learning experiences for everyone involved in it. I attend a college with 4,000 other students and everyone I've met has been extremely impressed when I tell them about our unique school system. The ID program is what fuels my passion for learning, even to this day as I sit in my dorm room with a pile of homework waiting to be finished. If I hadn't been in the ID program, I doubt I would have such strong lifelong learning skills, and I doubt I would be preparing to start a highly coveted internship with TJX this summer.

Why would you want to take away this opportunity from other kids and future students? They are our future, and we owe it to them to provide them with strong academic backgrounds and unique opportunities such as the ID program. Believe me, even at the collegiate level there are significant benefits to being an ID student, benefits that I couldn't imagine not having. The ID program is the reason I am a President’s list student at Bentley University. And it’s the reason I will go on to have an incredibly successful career in the business world. Because I was taught with an individualized mindset, and I was challenged to always do my best and think outside of the box.

I can say with the utmost confidence that I am who I am today because of what I was taught in the Integrated Day program. I was taught valuable public speaking skills that have served me well throughout high school and college. I was taught good social skills, and have been able to use these skills in everything I love – working at my parents toy store, working for the Bentley Career Services office in general, my passion for writing and reading, and even cultivating strong relationships.

I even credit the ID program with giving me the confidence to pursue my dreams, no matter how much hard work and determination would be necessary. By being an ID student, I learned resilience and perseverance. Because of the supportive and caring staff at John Lyman, I was able to pursue my passion of competitive figure skating, which grew into a successful skating career of 14 years where I accumulated over 35 medals and hundreds of hours of fun. All the while, I was also able to thrive academically and learn from others as well as myself.

I am forever grateful that I went to John Lyman, and I would not be who I am today without having attended that amazing school. I know that countless other people feel the same way, which is why this move to shut down John Lyman and the Integrated Day program is so disturbing. This move would take away this atmosphere of acceptance, inclusiveness, academic excellence and nurturing that allowed so many of us to become who we are today.

Our identities wouldn't be the same without the ID program, and the potential impact we will have on the "Real World" wouldn't be the same either. Closing John Lyman and scrapping the ID program would not only ruin our town, but it would have lasting effects on the community and world around us. The ID program sets students up for success in absolutely anything, who gave you the right to strip future students of that ability? I certainly didn't, and neither did they.

Whenever I tell people outside of District 13 about our two programs, they are all both surprised and impressed. Most districts don’t have the kind of opportunities for school choice that we have, especially with programs as good as what we have.

Taking away one of these programs, one that has done so much for so many people and put them on successful paths for their lives, would be extremely detrimental to our towns, and would make District 13 a less attractive place to attend. Therefore, furthering the issue of enrollment declining. Don't you know the saying "don't fix it if it ain't broke?" Yes? Well, stop doing it. Leave the ID program alone and maybe consider promoting it instead. In my 20 years on this Earth, I have never once seen anyone but ID students talk about the program and promote it to other families.

Yet, anyone who hears about it is immediately intrigued. Clearly, there is a missed opportunity here, so instead of putting all your energy into tearing apart a perfectly sound system, why don't you try saving it? You have hundreds of genuine spokespeople (i.e. past students who LOVE their school system, that is we did until you started ruining it) at your disposal...

Above anything, the opportunities provided to future kids like myself and my peers would be stripped from them, potentially setting them up for less success than us. I firmly believe that this is an absolutely terrible decision and would hurt District 13 and the people and children in it far more than it would help them. I urge the Board of Ed to reconsider this decision and truly think about the very real and very serious consequences of this decision.

Caroline Gervais

Bentley University Class of 2019