Dorchester Times: Superintendent: We Must Not Take Dorchester's School For Granted

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Superintendent: We Must Not Take Dorchester's School For Granted

Daryl Schrunk took over as superintendent of Dorchester's K-12 school at the start of the 2016-2017 school year. Today, we feature a guest editorial from Mr. Schrunk as he gives our readers his thoughts on Dorchester and its school after several months on the job.

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A couple of definitions of the word “community”...

A group of people, living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common;
A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

Wow -- does this describe the community of Dorchester.

First of all, on behalf of the students and staff of Dorchester Public School, I would like to thank you for all your support. Most recently, the support given to our student-athletes during the basketball season. I was so impressed with the Dorchester crowd cheering on the teams, whether we won or lost.

Dorchester Public School is a place where parents and patrons come together as a community to celebrate the successes of our students, both academically and in all the extra-curricular activities we are fortunate to offer. I know our students appreciate their supportive community and the generations of Longhorn pride that exists throughout their school and town.

As the definition above indicates, a community has a feeling of fellowship with common attitudes, interests, and goals. Having a school in Dorchester is something we must not take for granted. We need to cherish our common beliefs that have maintained this school for many generations.

The community has a vested interest in maintaining a quality education for our most precious natural resource -- our children. We share the common goals of providing opportunities for all students to reach their greatest potentials.

Our ultimate goal is to produce productive members in this ever-changing society. We want to send into this world young men and women who have characteristics of pride, respect, integrity, decision-making -- all of which will lead to their success. As mentioned in a recent newsletter, it is vital we work together to continue our commitment to a quality education.

I like to say that Dorchester Public Schools are “the best kept secret.” We have low student to teacher ratio, averaging 13 students per grade level. My goal is to increase enrollment, yet keep the strength of low class sizes in our safe, caring community of life-long learners.

I would be delighted to visit with you more about Dorchester Public School.

Daryl Schrunk
Superintendent
(402) 946-2781
dschrunk@dorchesterschool.org

1 comment:

AnonymousMarch 14, 2017 at 1:03 PM
Its nice to see such a positive caring attitude coming from our new superintendent. Mr. Schrunk comes across in person as truly caring about our kids and community and his comments and attempts to grow our district reflect this.
Hopefully we will be able to take advantage of our closeness to other districts and pull students out of Crete and our neighbor to the west as their superintendent and board cut programs and teachers to save a buck.
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."