Teacher Will Miss School's Uniqueness

Paul Winters taught Plant Science at W.B. Saul High School in Roxborough for more than 30 years, and in that time he received several parking tickets.

“It was a great run,” Winters said.  “I got a bunch of speeding tickets coming here, but I never got one going home.  It was that kind of place.  I couldn’t get here fast enough.”

Winters added that the students made the job as fun as it was as well as his colleagues.

“Nowhere short of the Marines would you receive this kind of support,” Winters said.  “I work with three or four of my best friends, and I’m not going to be with them anymore.”

Saul is just like any other high school except that in addition to traditional programs like math and science, students also learn agriculture sciences.

In fact, Saul is just one of two urban agricultural high schools in the nation.

“We have what we call the ‘tours of the month,’” Winters said.  “Anytime another city or state or even country wants to set up an agriculture school they come to look at us and what we do.”

Winters said that these agriculture programs really help the teachers have an impact on the students.

“Nowhere else can you have such an impact,” Winters said.  “We’re with these students for three hours a day.  We spend a lot more time with some of these students than any other adult in their life.”

Winters also said that with the shifting urban landscape, the skills taught at Saul become ever more important.

“More and more we’re seeing food deserts,” Winters said.  “As that happens education becomes more and more important.”

A food desert is the urban phenomenon of not having a supermarket or grocery store within 10 blocks of a location.

But, when it all comes down to it, Winters said the impact he’s had on each student is what he’ll miss the most.

“We cater to a specific population here,” Winters said.  “We cater to students who learn differently.  A lot of kids who come through here wouldn’t have finished high school or even gone to college if not for our programs.”

Winters added, “Now, these kids are veterinarians or the head of Fairmont Park.”