A New face in the crowd: By Elise Dovletoglou and Erin MAson
Who exactly is Mr. Tracy? Sure, you’ve seen him walking through the halls, maybe even popping in to observe some of your classes, but the man behind these dress shirts and ties has a lot more to offer the Regional than just his presence. A native to Massachusetts, Eric Tracy is quite the family man, and enjoys spending as much time enjoying the great outdoors as he can. Says Tracy, “I’m a jeans and t-shirt guy when I’m not at work… there’s so much around here when you look around”.
But time spent in nature is not Mr. Tracy’s only passion; he is as equally devoted and inspired within the environment which we get to witness every day: the high school. He’s a big believer in the utilization of technology and alternative learning methods; from his own twitter, notable for the hashtag “#BeGreat”, students can expect direct updates from the principal about what's going on within the Regional right from their own social media feeds. “Hamilton-Wenham is in this very unusual position to become what I believe to be a game-changer in education, and to do something different that is based [upon] real-life educational opportunities”, says Tracy. We can see more and more creative uses of technology, as well as “hybrid” classrooms that Mr. Tracy believes will provide way for an exciting future. Not all learning needs to be done in the classroom, and this expanded education will be a prevalent theme in the Regional’s upcoming approach to learning.
Mr. Tracy was originally drawn to work in and be a part of the tight-knit community of Hamilton-Wenham saying, “I learned a lot about the students, and the academic level, and the quality of what was going on [at the high school] and certainly that was exciting for me.” Rather than back away from the obstacles that our school presented, Mr. Tracy is aware “there were a lot of challenges here, some ups and downs, financially through the years. It was intriguing to be able to work with [the superintendent] and turn those things around.”
Though he will tell you that his 25 years as an educator has gone by quickly, we certainly hope that he has many more to come as the Regional opens up it’s doors to welcome him into our community. And as Mr. Tracy says, after these four years our classmates, and ourselves will be going off to “conquer the world, [but] what we tried and did in high school [is what helps us grow]”, and carries us into the future.
But time spent in nature is not Mr. Tracy’s only passion; he is as equally devoted and inspired within the environment which we get to witness every day: the high school. He’s a big believer in the utilization of technology and alternative learning methods; from his own twitter, notable for the hashtag “#BeGreat”, students can expect direct updates from the principal about what's going on within the Regional right from their own social media feeds. “Hamilton-Wenham is in this very unusual position to become what I believe to be a game-changer in education, and to do something different that is based [upon] real-life educational opportunities”, says Tracy. We can see more and more creative uses of technology, as well as “hybrid” classrooms that Mr. Tracy believes will provide way for an exciting future. Not all learning needs to be done in the classroom, and this expanded education will be a prevalent theme in the Regional’s upcoming approach to learning.
Mr. Tracy was originally drawn to work in and be a part of the tight-knit community of Hamilton-Wenham saying, “I learned a lot about the students, and the academic level, and the quality of what was going on [at the high school] and certainly that was exciting for me.” Rather than back away from the obstacles that our school presented, Mr. Tracy is aware “there were a lot of challenges here, some ups and downs, financially through the years. It was intriguing to be able to work with [the superintendent] and turn those things around.”
Though he will tell you that his 25 years as an educator has gone by quickly, we certainly hope that he has many more to come as the Regional opens up it’s doors to welcome him into our community. And as Mr. Tracy says, after these four years our classmates, and ourselves will be going off to “conquer the world, [but] what we tried and did in high school [is what helps us grow]”, and carries us into the future.