Dear Editor,
With so much emphasis on building a consolidated high school, I feel I must voice my concerns. First of all, congratulations to our board of education for trying to put our students as a priority. I’m not convinced their decision to consolidate is the best for our students in the Pinola and Harrisville areas due to the distance and safety that is invovlved in getting there, but at least they’re trying to provide a quality education.
My major concern is being able to put good quality teachers in such a facility. We can build an outstanding million dollar facility, but if we don’t have quality teachers there, we are setting up our students to fail. I’m praying that our leaders put as much concern and effort into getting as well as keeping quality teachers.
I don’t believe there is enough emphasis on valuing our best resource, our teachers. They are the ones working with our kids daily. There are reasons why there is a teacher shortage. Many times they are treated as a renewable resource. They are not. They are caring, professional people that are “piled on” daily. These daily demands: test pressure, grades, data, procedures, etc., are causing many of our teahcers to have serious health issues. Many times they go to other districts or leave education completely.
Kudos to our legislators for taking steps to increase teacher salaries but that alone won’t do it. It’s not always about the money (but I think increasing salaries is a good start). It’s about the respect and feeling valued that will help our teachers succeed, thus helping our students succeed. Our district needs to take steps to value the teacher. It’s not just the teacher, but all school positions: teacher assistants, support staff, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, custodians, etc., all play a valuable part in our success. Building a new high school is not enough.
I’ll continue to pray for our leaders and the success of our children, but I urge our leadership to invest in the entire education system and not just a building. We have some work to do to make every person involved in education a valuable member of a team that seeks ongoing success. Our future depends on it.
Thank you and
God bless,
Babs Gibson,
retired teacher
