While I didn’t have the good fortune to attend elementary school in Lincoln, the current discussion about this wonderful heart of the community has reminded me of my own experiences attending a neighborhood school: being walked to kindergarten by my older brothers, and the independence I felt when I could walk the road all by myself to school, or even take the “secret” woods path; how, in the lead-up to the 1972 presidential election, my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Sullivan introduced us all to the importance of voting and elections by creating a full-on in-class mock campaign; the infectious enthusiasm and supportive energy (and exacting standards) of music teacher Moses Godfrey, who inspired thousands of kids to learn to play an instrument so they’d be ready to join the “big time” middle-school orchestra; the wisdom of Mrs. Davis, my fifth-grade teacher, who taught me that beyond rules and formulas, mathematics was about patterns, connections, creativity and especially, discovery.

Looking back it is not hard to see how these wonderful educators and mentors both inspired and nurtured what has become for me a lifelong interest in voting and elections, in music, in mathematics, and in education itself. But beyond experiences that affected my own life-long learning path, my neighborhood school provided a model for what a community means, our connections to each other, and for the power of education to bring these connections about. A community school is one of the clearest expressions of those connections and the core values that animate them.

If the Lincoln Community School closes — a truly terrible outcome, yet strong possibility if Lincoln remains in the unified district — this vital resource and expression of community investment and values will disappear forever.

Withdrawing from the district will return control of this community treasure to the town so that present and future generations can continue the shared work of building community through the education of its children. That’s why I’m working with Lincoln friends and neighbors to encourage a “YES” vote, on August 24, to withdraw from MAUSD.

If you’d like to help support efforts to save LCS, please consider a few ways.

1. Vote YES on Aug. 24.

2. Share your story on FPF and in the Addy Indy! Let neighbors and friends know why LCS is important to you and our town.

3. Join our networks on social media, IG @savecommunityschools and Facebook: Save Community Schools.

4. Please consider a donation to help fund the cause, including postcards to all Lincoln residents by visiting the website: savecommunityschools.org.

Jeanne Albert

Lincoln