My Dad walked 3 miles to school! Uphill-both ways!

East Aurora is top of the bottom ten in attendance rates.
According to the local paper*, per state reports “Out of 153 schools, only nine fell below or failed to match the state attendance average of 93.7 percent -- “ one of those being EAHS. The local paper used attendance rates for 445 schools for 4 years for comparison. East High was in the bottom three of the 445 schools. What has changed in 60 years?

My Grandparents were immigrants. They received no welfare or subsidized housing. Their children received no free or reduced lunch or breakfast at school. They had 10 children who walked to school from Pigeon Hill (Pierce Street) because they could not afford to take the bus which cost a nickel. They rarely missed school. One son had perfect attendance K-12, having never missed a day! He was never acknowledged for that accomplishment.

What's the difference between then & now? What responsibility does the school have in fixing this problem?

*http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/2020815,2_1_AU31_ATTENDANCE_S1-100131.article

When strangers start acting like neighbors... communities are reinvigorated.

A fun fair was held at Simmons to raise funds to help ease the burden of medical costs for an EA student who suffered an aneurysm and needs significant, continued treatment.
There was a genuine outpouring from the community. I was in awe of the number of volunteers. The various donations of prizes, games, food and entertainment was amazing! Everything was plentiful. The rooms were full of activity. It appeared to be a highly successful event.

The EA community has many families who are ready to step up when there is a need. They just need to feel they have value and are welcome.
This event was another illustration of the true character of East Aurora that seems to be obscured by outsiders within 131 boundaries that have not taken time to get to know our students and their families.

POV wall

The previous post was getting a little long on comments.
No matter what the topic, bloggers seem to post their point of view (POV) on a variety of issues. So this will just be a new space for continuing those discussions.