Dear Editor,
As a Greene County resident I’ve been reading a lot about our school district and their decisions. Everyone seems to have an opinion about what changes need to be made to improve the relationship between the school district and the community and there seems to be a lot of squabbling. I’ve been squabbling a little myself.
When dozens of people attended a school board last spring, the school board outlined the proverbial pecking order so everyone would understand the chain of command. Parents are at the bottom of the totem pole, then teachers then the principal, etc. and the superintendent is at the top.
My husband and I moved here from a community (some time ago) that was very diverse and the school district’s attitude was welcoming towards parents. Faculty encouraged every parent to come to the ice cream social to meet all the teachers and administration. They encouraged us to join the parent teacher association which incidentally, raised so much money there wasn’t a teacher that had to purchase so much as a pencil for their classroom. They encouraged us to come and help in the classroom. They wanted us there and involved and they talked about it. All the time.
When we moved here to this community the attitude of teachers and the administrative staff was very different towards parents. My children and I were welcomed on the first day but that’s pretty much where it ended. Parents in this community are viewed as the problem and are not encouraged to come, but to “go away”. I tried to volunteer in my daughter’s classroom and was told “no thanks.”
Regardless of everyone’s opinion about policy and procedures it is my belief that parents should be encouraged to be part of the educationally process of our children on every level, all the time! Not just when problems arise. Why? Because in all reality, we are the top of the totem pole, not the bottom.
Why are parents at the top of the list? Because those are our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and we vote. It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, a lot of times, we vote based on our feelings. I think that we can look to the current election process for proof. So when the school board comes up for election or wants to put the bond issue on the ballot, parents are going to vote based on their experiences with the school district and their feelings. We hope that all voters are informed and educated about the issues and attend the public forum meetings but the reality is different. Very few will vote with informed opinions and most will vote their feelings.
So the next time you look the other way when you see one of the little ones being bullied, or overreach to discipline an innocent student or tell our kids they are cheering too loud, we remember. When you won’t answer the phone when we call or belittle our children because they don’t play their musical instrument well or fire our favorite coaches, we remember. And when coaching becomes political and you let your child play in all the games when others play better or change the stats we read in the paper, we remember. When you ask teachers to pay back earned income, we remember. When you purposely stop repairing and maintaining our buildings and make them unsafe because you have an agenda, we remember. When a student can’t attend his first semester of college because transcripts weren’t sent on time, we remember. When you don’t know our names or our children’s names, we really remember.
The tension between the school district and the community didn’t develop overnight. It developed over time but it always starts at the top. If you believe you are at the top of list, then it starts with you.
Sincerely, Sheila J. Goodwin, Jefferson
