By: Austin Mendes
via Google Images
FREETOWN, MA -
Since the school opened its doors in 1972, Freetown and Assonet residents have been able to attend Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School to receive their high school diplomas, and start out their lives. It all begins with what Old Colony has to offer. From the small, tight community this school in Rochester brings, to the tight bonds it creates amongst staff and students. The atmosphere at Old Colony is unlike any other school across the globe.
Students from Lakeville, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Carver, Acushnet and Freetown have all walked in the doors of this small vocational school, and out the doors 4 years later with their high school diplomas, along with a trade they have studied along those years that will help them in their careers. The equal opportunity amongst eager students from these towns has allowed many graduates to prosper into well-rounded adults.
My High School Graduation Day; June 6 2021
Freetown residents were allowed to go to Old Colony RVTHS up until 2020. As the Class of 2024 is the first class to not consist of a single student from the town of Freetown. As of the Class of 2025 on, they will be attending Bristol-Plymouth in Taunton, MA.
I don't know all the politics behind this move, but I have noticed that it has upset a lot of parents, and students who want to attend the small Rochester town. I am not one to call for changes, but this is a change that should be put in place. Bring Freetown back to Old Colony RVTHS.
For background, Freetown is a small town in southeastern Massachusetts. They are a country town to say the least. Bristol-Plymouth is a large vocational school which offers admission to the city of Taunton, and towns of Middleboro, Berkley, Dighton, Rehoboth, Raynham and Bridgewater. These are larger towns, close to what some would call a city.
The question remains; why does Freetown belong at Old Colony?
Towns Feeding Into OC:
As mentioned before, Old Colony serves the towns of Lakeville, Mattapoisett, Acushnet, Rochester, and Carver. Let's take a deeper look into Lakeville in particular... since 4th grade, Freetown and Lakeville go to school together. Starting at George R Austin Intermediate School, they grow the bonds with each other than is almost certain up until 8th grade, where they leave Freetown-Lakeville Middle School. From here, they have options of schools, OC, Apponequet, Bristol Aggie, etc. For those Lakeville students that attend Old Colony, why not bring their Freetown friends too? Instead of dropping our Freetown high school freshmen off in the city of Taunton. I will go into further detail soon as to why I am passionate about this change. Old Colony uses three words as their motto: "Community; Character; Commitment". To stay true to this, Freetown has built a community with Lakeville that they relatively can't do much apart, some start to consider the two towns to be one town, the Freetown Lakeville Athletic Association is a perfect example of this, this brings the community aspect already to the table for Freetown. Old Colony's general character creates young, well-rounded adults ready for college or the workforce. They are committed to the success of each individual student.
Academics/Shops:
Old Colony offers 90 days of academics and 90 days in your vocational shop for the 180 day school year. The academic teachers at Old Colony are the best at what they are supposed to do. They fit in a 180 day curriculum at most schools, into half that in order for the students to be up to speed. Students have the chance to explore 12 shops throughout the school. As for myself, I graduated from the electrical department. The shops have professionals who have worked in their own respective fields teaching these departments. A cooperative employment program is in place to allow students to "get their feet wet" into the industry. OC alumni from Freetown make up the work force in some of these companies. Notably, for machine and tool, A A Precision is a machine shop which is owned by Freetown resident Jeff Arruda, both of his sons, Brendan ('18) and Colby ('21) are Old Colony graduates. A co-owner of MV Electric is a Freetown resident. These are just a couple examples of Freetown's ties with Old Colony.
Freetown residents (left-to-right) Colby Arruda, Austin Mendes, Riley Bosse at Prom 2021
Athletics:
Notable from the athletics department's recent success is the 2017/2018 and 2019/2020 Walter Markham awards. Which is given to the school with the best win - loss record in athletic competition. To name a few notable athletes from these athletic programs to win the award, Brad Plissey ('18), Bailee Amaral ('19), Kyle Scholz ('20), Thomas Stanton ('21), Jared Boren ('21) and myself. What do these student-athletes all have in common you might ask? They are all Freetown residents. The student athlete to have the most rushing touchdowns in a single season, Ryan Baker ('17), is also a Freetown resident. Along with this, the late Devin Carrier (‘13), who was an MMA fighter from Freetown, is a graduate of Old Colony. The youth athletic teams in Freetown have a great number of talent on them. Old Colony has received great contributions from Freetown residents to their athletic program throughout the years, and can continue to receive it down the line.
Class of 2021 Football posing with Coach Mendez following the season [Imaged (L-to-R) Jared Boren (Freetown); Austin Mendes (Freetown); Coach Mendez; Thomas Stanton (Freetown); Ryan McGuiggan (Carver)]
Closing Remarks:
As an Old Colony graduate apart the class of 2021, along with being a graduate from Freetown, I believe that students from Freetown should be allowed to continue enrollment at Old Colony, as they have done for years. My family has graduated Old Colony from Freetown. Several families have voiced their opinions and thoughts. Freetown should be in the group of Lakeville, Mattapoisett, Carver, Acushnet, and Rochester. The students of Freetown deserve to have the equal opportunity as the students from those towns to go to this school. I am not into the politics surrounding this, but this is the future generations' education we are talking about. I am here to be their voice. Old Colony has always allowed Freetown students, and it shouldn't stop here. To the parents, students, and everyone reading this. YOU CAN MAKE THE CHANGE! Voice your thoughts. We vote for the selectmen of our town, make it known that Freetown's vocational school of choice SHOULD BE OLD COLONY RVTHS!
Petition to start the change: https://chng.it/pBpMBn9vS2
Thank you for taking your time to read this article!
If you have comments, questions, suggestions or anything please feel free to reach out to me! My contact information can be found in the "About" section of this website. I'd love to hear from you!
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