“Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out
hate; only love can do that.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
By
Tommie Saylor
Kennedy
High School Principal
Sometimes
I ask, why do they hate us so much? What have we done to deserve such
vile attitudes toward us?
I
must believe that it’s because people just don’t know, they don’t know what our
staff does each and every day for their kids, they don’t know about all the
great things taking place at John F. Kennedy High School. They don’t know
because it’s often not reported. Instead self-sacrifice and honest effort goes
unnoticed as it fades into obscurity.
We
have a JROTC program that is ranked as one of the best programs in the state,
and just recently won the Commanders Cup in a multi-school competition.
Our band is preparing full heartedly for the MSBOA District competition, our
DECA club had nine students qualify for State-level competition, and our Youth
In Government group attended the Detroit Economic luncheon this last Wednesday.
In
addition, we have many projects taking place that includes supporting a
recycling program, purchasing bulletproof vests for police dogs, a canned food drive
for the needy, a used book drive for anyone who has a passion for reading and
fund raising for children suffering from hair loss.
Does
any of this make the news? No. But have a few students act foolish causing a
disruption to the educational process, and we become the top story of the day. We
have teachers who make the arrangements to take Advanced Placement Government
students to see the movie “Selma,” teachers who dig deep into their own pockets
to purchase necessary classroom supplies, and none of this makes the news. But we
are “laid bare” the moment we falter.
Simply,
the troubles we had at Kennedy High School this week does not reflect who we
are. We are a reward school, a school that is among the top 5 percent of
schools in Michigan for achieving significant gains, and finds itself among the
top 25 percent of schools in the nation.
We
are a proud community dedicated to the advancement of students, and embroiled
in a tradition of excellence. Though from time to time we may stumble, we are far from a school that has fallen
from grace. We are, John F. Kennedy High School, the standard for
educational excellence.
What
starts here, changes the world. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence
by design….
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