Where is the Outcry for the Children?
When I walk past the Rogers School, the library, or gaze up at the “Castle on the Hill” that is Fairhaven High, I am reminded of Henry Huttleston Rogers, a man who believed education should be our town’s highest priority. He didn’t merely say it; he gave us schools and institutions as a pledge to future generations. That legacy rests on our shoulders today.
As a former member of our School Committee and Select Board, I have seen how classrooms become the bedrock of who we are. I’ve watched a timid child find confidence, a struggling student discover a talent, and a graduate step into the world with the courage our town helped give them.
Rogers understood that teaching a child to read, to think, to care, is to invest in the very soul of Fairhaven. Look around, how many Fairhaven graduates do you see leading this town into the future? They carry on the legacy of pride in this community through service to it.
Good schools make Fairhaven more than a place to live, they make it a place worth loving. They keep families here, draw new neighbors, and bind us together with a shared pride that echoes from the library steps to the high school tower. When we honor Rogers’ vision, when we fund teachers, counselors, programs, and safe buildings, we honor him and the promise he made to every child who walks our streets.
I have seen firsthand the nights teachers stay late, the parents who express gratitude for the help from counselors, the pride in our football team winning another Super Bowl, and the joy of graduation as an entire town applauds these young lives launched. These moments are the living proof that investing in educa.-tion is investing in our community’s heart and future.
Henry Rogers entrusted us with beautiful, enduring gifts. Let us repay that trust by ensuring every child in Fairhaven has the education and opportunity those buildings were meant to hold.
As my daughter graduates this year, I will have had children in Fairhaven Public Schools for almost 26 years. I am grateful and proud of the education my children received and the support of the teachers, counselors and coaches. I will vote to continue to fund this school district to the level it needs to sustain the programs for future generations. Because I believe, just like Henry Huttleston Rogers believed, our children are worth it.
Stasia Powers, Former School Committee Member, Former Select Board Member, Fairhaven resident
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