The number of students who decide not to go to Sandwich High has been steadily increasing each year and I am pretty sure that this year will set a new record.
While candidates for School Committee have all commented on this trend; one even suggesting that it was a marketing and branding problem; no one seems prepared or willing to acknowledge that just maybe potential students (and parents) believe our High School product is inferior and that maybe (just maybe) they’re right.
Branding and marketing changes are usually little more than cosmetic. Does anyone really think the High School’s challenges are cosmetic? Would a new name and logo fix things? I doubt it.
The School Committee and the School Administration should create and execute a thorough, candid and wide-ranging survey of students and parents who have left the district. It might even be worthwhile to hire a professional research firm to do the work and review the findings.
Until someone captures and evaluates the data and reasons why students are fleeing the High School no one will know and no one will be able to fix whatever is wrong.
And, we really don’t need a survey (just the enrollment figures) to know that clearly something is wrong.
