Drive down West Street in Newburgh and take a good look at what is standing there.
It is absolutely beautiful.
In just a matter of weeks, the Newburgh Enlarged City School District will open the doors to its new Career and Technical Education building—a state-of-the-art facility that represents something our community should be celebrating loudly and proudly.
My question is simple: Why isn’t everyone talking about this?
There is certainly no shortage of conversation when something goes wrong in the Newburgh school district. When there is controversy, disagreement, a personnel issue, or something negative to discuss, everyone seems to have something to say. Social media lights up. People attend Board meetings. Opinions fly in every direction.

But look at what is happening on West Street.
Newburgh is opening a new school for our children.
Not another promise. Not another plan sitting on paper. Not another idea for sometime in the future.
A building. A school. An investment in Newburgh’s children that we can actually see.
And what will happen inside that building is even more exciting than the building itself.
Our students will have opportunities to explore and prepare for careers in areas such as carpentry, welding, veterinary technology, barbering, cosmetology, nursing, HVAC, photography, automotive technology, and even plumbing.
Think about what that means.
A young person who loves working with cars can begin developing those skills while still in high school. A student interested in healthcare can begin exploring nursing. Another student may discover a future in the skilled trades through welding, carpentry, HVAC, or plumbing. Someone else may find a passion for cosmetology, barbering, photography, or veterinary technology.
These aren’t “lesser” pathways. These are professions. These are careers. These are businesses waiting to be created. These are pathways to certifications, apprenticeships, college, entrepreneurship, financial independence, and good-paying jobs.
This is what opportunity looks like.

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
I also believe in giving people their flowers when they have earned them.
Kudos to Superintendent Dr. Jackielyn Manning-Campbell.
This project has had challenges. It did not simply appear overnight. The work experienced delays and periods when progress was uncertain. Yet under Dr. Manning-Campbell’s leadership, the district and her team persevered and brought this project toward completion.
That deserves recognition.

Superintendents are routinely held accountable for what doesn’t happen under their leadership. Then fairness requires that we also acknowledge what does happen under their leadership.
And this happened.
A major CTE facility is preparing to open its doors for Newburgh students.
Whatever someone’s personal opinion may be about the Superintendent, the Board of Education, or district leadership, we should be capable of putting politics aside long enough to recognize an extraordinary accomplishment for children.
Dr. Manning-Campbell and her team got this project across the finish line.
There were previous administrations under which the project did not reach completion. Dr. Manning-Campbell inherited the responsibility of moving this work forward, and now Newburgh is weeks away from opening the doors.
That is leadership worth acknowledging.
Many superintendents would love to point to a transformational project like this during their tenure a facility that could serve generations of students and fundamentally expand the career pathways available to them.
Dr. Manning-Campbell can.

I Hope the Community Gets to See It

I sincerely hope the district holds a community open house.
Open those doors and let Newburgh see what has been built for its children.
Invite the taxpayers.
Invite parents.
Invite alumni.
Invite local businesses and tradespeople.
Invite community organizations.
And most importantly, invite our young people to walk through that building and imagine themselves learning there.
I cannot wait to see the inside of this school.
I want to see the welding spaces. I want to see where students will learn automotive technology. I want to see the nursing program, the cosmetology and barbering spaces, the HVAC and plumbing programs, the photography areas, veterinary technology, and carpentry.
I want our community to see what its investment has produced.
Because maybe then we will spend a little less time talking about everything we believe is wrong with Newburgh and take a moment to recognize something that is very right.

Our Children Deserve This
For too long, communities like Newburgh have had to fight against the idea that success after high school follows only one pathway.
Every student does not have to follow the same road.

Some students will attend four-year universities. Some will attend community colleges. Some will enter apprenticeships. Some will earn professional certifications. Some will go directly into the workforce. And some will take the skills they learn in this building and eventually open businesses of their own.
Imagine a Newburgh graduate becoming a master plumber and owning a company.
Imagine another becoming an HVAC technician.
Imagine one opening a barber shop or salon.
Imagine a student becoming a nurse.
Imagine another owning an automotive repair business.
Imagine our graduates returning to Newburgh as skilled professionals, employers, homeowners, and entrepreneurs.
That is bigger than a building.
That is economic opportunity.
That is workforce development.
That is community development.
And that is education doing what education is supposed to do—preparing young people for meaningful lives beyond graduation.

Newburgh, Celebrate This One
We can hold our school district accountable and still celebrate its accomplishments. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.
In fact, real accountability requires both.

If we are going to fill rooms when we are angry, perhaps we should also fill rooms when our children succeed.
If we are going to write posts about everything that goes wrong, perhaps we can write a few about something going right.
And if we demand that leaders take responsibility for failures, then we should have enough integrity to give them credit for accomplishments.
So yes, I applaud Dr. Jackielyn Manning-Campbell. I applaud her team. I applaud everyone who stayed with this project and helped bring it to completion.
The building standing on West Street represents perseverance, investment, and possibility.
Soon, students will walk through those doors carrying backpacks, dreams, and plans for their futures. Years from now, some of them may look back and say that what happened inside that building changed the trajectory of their lives.
That is something worth talking about.
That is something worth celebrating.
Newburgh, look at what is standing on West Street.
Before rushing to the next controversy, take a moment and appreciate what has been accomplished for our children.
This is progress. This is opportunity. This is an investment in Newburgh’s future.
And when those doors finally open, I hope the entire community is invited inside.
Congratulations, Newburgh. And kudos to Dr. Manning-Campbell, who although she is not from Newburgh, she definitely IS Newburgh! Dr. Manning Campbell is not from Newburgh but she is FOR Newburgh!!!
Thank you for persevering and seeing this tremendous project through for our kids. Thank you!