Dear ENSATS Community,

In light of the events in Washington DC on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, we want to reaffirm that our purpose at Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School is to educate our students to be good citizens. The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines citizenship as “the quality of an individual’s response to membership in a community.”

Our community is defined by our Graduate Profile that identifies the qualities that ENSATS students possess upon graduation that inform our instruction.  We want all our students to:

• Choose kindness

• Support each other

• Be helpful, not hurtful

• Respect and embrace our differences

While we recognize that emotions are at an all-time high, we want to remind our learning community that our students are looking for us to provide a sense of stability.  We need to remain grounded in serving our students and to teach them to be productive members of our school community and the other communities to which they belong. As educators, this moment is a time to help students to be responsible citizens. We are inspired during these times from the words of Mahatma Gandhi when he said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

As a reminder, if students need assistance, they should contact their school counselor or other trusted adult.  They can be extremely helpful as we try to make sense of all that is happening in this world.

Sincerely,

Heidi T. Riccio, Superintendent-Director 
Shannon Donnelly, Principal 
Thomas O’Toole, Assistant Superintendent
Kathleen Holman, Director of Human Resources