Maine Prairie Graduation on Wednesday
Jun 04, 2021 12:00AM ● By Debra Dingman
Science teacher Dina Flamik and art teacher Regina Peterson give their thumbs up to the graduating seniors at MPHS who will receive diplomas this week at an on-campus ceremony. Photo by Kathy Lewetzow
"They didn’t give up. Dixon has great students”
DIXON, CA (MPG) – There’s probably no one more proud of the 31 Maine Prairie High School graduating students than long-time Principal Yvette Ramos.
“The resiliency these students have exhibited during the Coronavirus Pandemic has been astonishing to me,” she said. “They’ve moved forward to earn their credits when, with the struggles of long-distance learning, it would have been easy to walk away. They didn’t give up. Dixon has great students.”
She--along with teachers--believes students have learned more valuable skills than if they had a regular school year, Ramos said.
“The skills they are walking away with are more than one realizes. They’ve learned the little things that grownups take for granted. Because of the pandemic, they’ve grown in technology and learned to communicate more professionally because of writing to their teachers, for example,” she explained.
The students will participate in graduation ceremonies this coming Wednesday, June 2nd, outside at the MPHS campus at 7 pm. Parents and family of students have been invited to the outdoor ceremony at the small campus, 305 East C Street, next to Anderson Elementary School. Traditionally, the ceremony has been held inside the Dixon High School Theater but respecting the Governor’s mandate for social distancing, the venue changed for the second year in a row. There will be folding chairs and the organizers chose the evening to cooperate with the warm temperatures expected.
Maine Prairie High School is a public, alternative school that usually has about 80 students in grades 10-12 with an impressive student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1 that helps provide more personal attention to help students learn.
The Mission of Maine Prairie High School is to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. They provide students with a supportive, caring and alternative learning environment, according to staff. Their standards-based educational program prepares students to successfully achieve academic, personal and post-secondary goals.
“MPHS got a bad rap for a few years but that’s behind us and we know we are a good place for students,” Principal Ramos said. “They may struggle in school but they are really great youth. These students are everybody’s students. They belong to our community and we all should be proud of them!”
