What Makes a School Great

A walk through the school’s halls, past the well-equipped computer labs and walls containing students’ murals, reveals an interactive comfort level between older and younger, as they exchange good-natured hellos.

Caring and Excellence Connect at Shepherd Hill

Academic success at Shepherd Hill Regional High School can be summed up in two simple words: laundry bill.

Night had fallen after the prom, recent graduate Katherine Tokarz explains. “There were three couples who had come to the dance in my parents’ Ford Aerostar. When we went back to the car to go home — everyone in their gowns and tuxedos — we found a flat tire. So who comes along but our principal, Mr. (Sean) Gilrein, and Assistant Principal David Grenier. They both got down in the dirt in their tuxes and changed the tire for us,” she says.

“We were all laughing, and, like, having another party out there. We were having so much fun, having great conversations while all this was happening, and the two principals were like a couple of uncles. Needless to say, Mr. Gilrein’s tux was really dirty afterwards.”

The story epitomizes the spirit of community giving and family connection pervading the atmosphere at Shepherd Hill in Dudley, Mass. (pop. 1,800). For students, teachers, and administrators alike, it is the defining characteristic of daily life there. A walk through the school’s halls, past the well-equipped computer labs and walls containing students’ murals, reveals an interactive comfort level between older and younger, as they exchange good-natured hellos.

Such caring and familial unity is key to the scholastic success of Shepherd Hill’s 1,600 students. And it is very successful. Recognized in 1999 as an “Outstanding American High School” by U.S. News and World Report, Shepherd Hill has distinguished itself with a challenging curriculum, standards, and expectations; highly qualified teachers; high attendance rates; and strong parent involvement. A parent-run Booster Club raises money for needed programs, and the School Council, made up of parents, students, teachers, business leaders, and community members, serves as an advisory board.

Roughly 90 percent of a graduating class goes on to some form of higher education, Gilrein says, compared to about 70 percent across Massachusetts, according to state figures, and 72 percent nationally, says the U.S. Department of Education. And last November, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley’s office called Gilrein to announce that Shepherd Hill was one of four high schools in the country selected for recognition in the Department of Education’s Safe and Drug-Free Schools Recognition Program.

Success Doesn’t Only Occur in a Classroom

But for all its social and academic accolades, something more fundamental exists at Shepherd Hill: a connection that reaches beyond the classroom.

“It comes through in the way we (administrators and teachers) address the students by name, the way we talk with and listen to them, out in the halls, or whenever there’s an opportunity, the frequency with which we attend athletic events,” says Suzanne Cabral, a special education teacher with more than 20 years at Shepherd Hill.

She credits Gilrein for bringing an atmosphere of excellence with him when he joined the school six years ago, but he defers to the teachers. “We have 38 buses that line up in the front and back,” for towns served by the regional school,” he says, “and when they roll out at 2:20 we still have about 65 percent of our students and 60 percent of our faculty involved in extracurricular activities from 2:30 to 9:30.”

“Again, it’s that spirit of personal, human connection with the students, which our teachers have. When we hire, we tell them, ‘We know you have great credentials, but what do you want to do for the kids after 2:30?’”

Music— and lots of it — is one answer. Instrumental and choral groups are as numerous as they are diverse, ranging from multiple choir and jazz groups to classical ensembles large and small, says Constance Galli, choral director. Such programs develop creativity, discipline, and impromptu thought, Galli says. Shepherd Hill’s music program also incorporates community service, such as a performance given for a local association of retarded citizens.

“In performance situations like this,” says Gilrein, “especially when the people listening are asked to participate, the kids learn to perform and adapt improvisationally with great poise, never losing sight of the need for excellence.”

Science students also get real research experience under a partnership called Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, in which they report daily observations on tree canopy growth and water table contents to the government-sponsored program.

“Every year students have asked questions such as ‘what good is this?’ and ‘when will we ever use this in our life?’ Well, here they find out, first hand, the benefits of their study and efforts,” says science teacher Anthony Surozenski.

Adds fellow science teacher Dennis McGeary: “NASA scientists, as well as those associated with the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, report back to the students on a regular basis to let the kids know just how their research is progressing.”

Other after-school activities frequently embrace community service: fund-raisers for a student battling cancer, Christmas caroling at nursing homes, buying Thanksgiving turkeys for needy citizens, and picking up trash. “The caring that goes on internally expresses itself outwardly,” says recent graduate Michael Alden.

Service and academic achievement do indeed go hand in hand at Shepherd Hill. Caring, and the sense of involvement inspired by community service, spills over into academic work, says recent graduate Jenna Murphy. “It’s phenomenal. People just want to be here, want to learn, want to succeed.” Teachers help by making studies interesting and relevant, she adds. “They take real pride in our accomplishment, and so we want to make them proud of us.”

Expect a Lot, Get a Lot

“We truly value our students,” Gilrein explains. “And it’s evident in various ways—including our students advisory committee that meets with me to consider a wide range of campus affairs, and possible policy changes.”

Students were allowed a say in whether to use backpacks on campus—a practice banned at some high schools because they can conceal weapons. That is hardly a threat at Shepherd Hill, so packs are allowed.

“Throughout our personal and official interactions,” Gilrein continues, “we share a common assumption— that we don’t wish, we don’t hope, but rather, we expect. This expectation isn’t a burden, however. It’s really a joy, because it’s all happening in a context of genuine relationships.”

Tokarz, who had the flat tire on prom night, is quite clear about how expectation and caring came together in her experience with Shepherd Hill teachers. “Like, for example, Mrs. Brousseau, who teaches writing skills. You can’t con her about anything. She’s all about honesty—personal and intellectual honesty.

“It’s hard work, but always worth it. Then there’s Mr. Chaplain, who is very aware of global issues. We can sit and have long conversations, and it’s a real learning experience. When I think about the teachers I’ve had here, I’d have to say that learning has really gotten into my blood.”

Jenna Murphy took an important realization with her when she graduated earlier this year. “Education is how you go about your life,” she says. “I want to be able to give back to my community, to succeed and be happy. And I think that my happiness won’t revolve around money, although, of course, everyone needs to have it.

“I think it has more to do with living a full life,” she says, “and that, in turn, has to do with giving.”

Bradwell Scott is a New Hampshire-based freelance writer.

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