Take a moment to be proud of students

This past school year hasn’t been the easiest for Winsted and the rest of the state when it comes to budget problems and figuring out how to pay for education, but the results of our investment came through this past week as high-school seniors graduated, eighth-graders moved on to become freshmen and former students sent back news of their successes in college. For Winsted citizens, it’s an opportunity to sit back and be proud.

Graduations at The Gilbert School and Northwestern Regional High and Middle Schools this week focused on academic successes, inspiring students to look toward the future with optimism, while remembering the importance of their formative educational years.

Parents, teachers and friends have been delighted to see the looks on excited young faces and to hear the stories of students who made a difference. If this year’s graduating class is a sign of what’s to come, our future leaders will be compassionate, hard-working, charitable and friendly and will continue to find ways to better their communities as adults.

Taxpayers can bicker all they want about the rising costs of education, but when students finish their four years of high school or enter as freshmen with a string of achievements already under their belts, it should be a sign that our schools are doing something right. For those of us who have never worked in the schools, we can only imagine how difficult the jobs must be. In turn, graduations must give educators, staff and administrators a sense of pride that reminds them why they do what they do.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, give a graduating student a pat on the back this week for a job well done, and take a moment to be proud of your community.