As a parent and long-time resident of this town, I have always believed in fostering creativity and school spirit among our kids. I feel that I express this often with my volunteerism and most recent community initiative, called Mustangs Give Back.
Since my children entered high-school, I have noticed a growing tradition among upperclassmen in other towns, painting their parking spots at school. It seemed like a fun, harmless way for students to express themselves, mark their territory, and create a bit of school camaraderie. But as my kids grew older, I realized something unusual, this tradition is not allowed in Monson. To my surprise, I discovered that while students are required to pay to park at our high-school, they aren't allowed to personalize their spots with a little bit of paint. It struck me as odd, especially when surrounding schools seem to have embraced this practice without issue. I remember one of the first away games I attended up in Hampshire, which was super cold for hoop of course. I noticed the parking spots immediately and it brought me so much joy that I walked around their parking lot freezing. One of Molly's best friends has a boyfriend that just graduated there as well. He was over this week before heading off to college and I asked him if it was a big process to make this happen. He went on to tell me how it's a tradition, loved by all and totally easy to put together. When I reached out to some of these other schools like Tantasqua in the picture, I found that organizing such an event was straightforward. Paint supplies were often donated by local businesses, making it a community-driven initiative. I also reached out to family we have in Florida where their daughter, just a day or two apart from Molly, recently posted the picture you see here as well. Her Mom told me they even clean the space from last year's senior before they paint their own space. Again, I thought this is great stuff.
When we started to have this conversation last year I connected with a Monson employee with an artistic background who volunteered to help make this happen. It seemed like a win-win: a chance for students to showcase their artistic abilities while building Mustang school spirit. Yet, despite our efforts, the answer was always "no." I then asked to present this idea to the school committee, believing that if they heard how much potential this event had, they might reconsider. But again, I was told no.
So now, I'm turning to you, my network, for your thoughts. What am I missing? From where I stand, this seems like a positive opportunity to engage students and the community. Is there a downside I am not seeing? Or should we keep pushing for this tradition in Monson? I would love to hear your opinions and experiences, whether you're from Massachusetts or other states near and far. Let's start a conversation about how we can make our public schools more vibrant and inclusive places for our kids. It seems like they lost so much from 2020 maybe it's time to say YES!
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