Education
Education
St. Johns River College (Higher Education)
Susan Kessler has watched St. John’s River State College’s GED program accept more and more students as the years go on.
Kessler, the director of public relations at the college, said that while the drop out right in Palatka high schools is high, the college and city are trying to get residents to become more educated.
“We're like every community. We do have our challenges, but it's also a very close knit community,” she said. “When people need help, we all come together.”
After reading the negative Washington Post article about Palatka, Kessler said she believes the reporters didn’t look all that Palatka has to offer.
“I’m a Trump supporter, but when The Washington Post sends someone to Palatka and tries to blame Trump's problems on Palatka, that is fake news,” she said.
High School
Sharice Williams has watched the town she loves
grow and change year after year, but has not had a say in how or what has done
so. However, she does know first-hand how much Palatka High School has grown
with the town and contributes to that success every day.
Williams, a Dean at Palatka High School, has witnessed the cities
big businesses move out and move on, but says that Palatka is “a family that is
growing, not dying. We have everything we need here, and we are happy!”
Besides the normal disciplinary and administrative duties Williams
is tasked with, she makes certain the children, whom are crucial to Palatka’s
future success, are equipped with the best resources to excel academically and
stay involved: programs such as the Positive Behavior Program, Perfect
Attendance A and B Honor Roll, and many others are available to the students at
Palatka High.
Williams believes the children benefit heavily from parental
involvement in his or her everyday life, and that school is no exception. She
says the efforts to do this have allowed for a noticeable increase in parental
involvement, which is surely welcomed. “My job as the Dean of Palatka High
School is to get news and information to students and parents, helping students
get involved in opportunities like student government, or at events like the Fall
Festival or Trunk-or-Treat.” Williams does not exclude herself from this
involvement: she was present at this year’s annual Palatka Pride Fall Festival
helping any way she could.
“What defines a town as dying?” Williams says. “The people here in Palatka
are using resources that they have and they do well with the resources they
have!” It seems that as long as this
close-knit community and people like Sharice Williams continue to have a stake
in what happens in Palatka and the children growing up in it, this town is not
dying anytime soon.