An Interview With Mrs Fream!!!

by Macy Estep and Nate Fox

Note. Mrs Fream posing with Maggie before winter break.

Introduction: Ms. Fream is the director of Massanutten Regional Governor’s School. She has been committed to the success of each student for 15 years at MRGS.

What is your goal for MRGS students?

Answer: “I think the most important goal is to have a positive academic experience. However, what I really want students to have when they graduate is to have skills that they can take with them, whether it’s to college or to the workforce, that they can use. It’s not always about content. Content is always transferable. Skills are transferable. So I want students to be able to communicate, I want them to be able to collaborate, I want them to be able to problem solve, I also want them to be able to problem find, and those skills are transferable no matter where you go, no matter what you do. So I feel like what we teach here is the avenue to teach those skills, but I don’t necessarily think that the content’s what’s the most important thing which is a big reason why we don’t do memorization and things like that. We do other stuff to help you, you know, to learn those skills and to learn the content more so than just taking tests and doing worksheets.”

What are some of your favorite research projects or projects in general that students have done?

Answer: “This isn’t necessarily any particular one, but I love Pickles Will Kill You… That is probably my favorite project just because I feel like it’s just really relevant to how we look at information and how we look at data, that people see stuff all the time and how they blow it out of proportion or they use statistics in an incorrect way and they don’t understand that it’s being used incorrectly…We had a student, again, this was probably close to 10 years ago, she was working with a professor at JMU and this was for cancer research, so she actually was able–the professor wrote a paper and did all these things, so–as a high school student, her name was included on his paper on the research he did, which I think was a great opportunity for her."

Note. MRGS Juniors sitting with Maggie during the school’s holiday card picture day.

Maggie (short for Magnolia) is Ms. Fream’s pet golden retriever and Gov. School’s shining joy. When asked if Ms. Fream has bigger plans for Maggie,

Answer: “I feel like her job is just to be here to be happy so that other people can be as well. I don’t necessarily think that she has to do anything else other than be here when people need it.” She goes on to mention, “The kind of kids that come to this environment already have high levels of stress because of the expectations they have for themselves or others have for them, so her here I think is just to help relieve some of that tension, some of that stress.”