Bill Krantz, Principal of McLaughlin Middle School, and Scott Szuksta, Assistant Principal, recently joined Manchester Proud to canvass neighborhoods in their school district. Bill shared with us why he joined Manchester Proud and why he’s encouraging others to do the same.

Bill Krantz writes;

Scott Szuksta and I joined the Manchester Proud volunteers to canvass some streets in our school district. At first, we were very nervous as we have never done this before. Going to people’s homes can be intimidating, but the Manchester Proud project managers were terrific. They provided excellent training so that we felt confident getting out there and chatting with the public.

Once we got going, it was pretty easy! Scott and I received a significant amount of positive feedback from the residents we spoke to. They were very appreciative and somewhat surprised to see us knocking on doors on a Saturday morning. Numerous people shared that never in their lifetime have they seen the city’s school principals out going door-to-door to hear their what they thought about the city and its schools. We enjoyed lots of laughs and were very moved by how much they love the city and their neighborhood. A lot of residents in our district have lived in their homes for many, many years. They have literally watched the city grow around them as new neighborhoods came into existence on land that they remember as being forest or fields. There was a little sadness and concern about some of the current challenges the city is facing. At the same time, there was hope that the good folks of Manchester will figure out how to move things along. In this regard, the citizens we talked to were excited and most appreciative that the Manchester Proud initiative is focused on a number of their concerns. Many expressed appreciation that there is a “for-real” effort to gather their thoughts so that residents can have a voice in how Manchester moves forward. Honestly, for Scott and I, it was a genuine privilege to speak with this bunch of really nice people who live in our district.

These wonderful folks (Manchester Proud) are trying to help us improve our schools. It would be great if we could help them help us. I respectfully urge all of you to seriously consider assisting Manchester Proud with upcoming canvassing initiatives and events. You can find the schedule on the Manchester Proud website under community events.