Great education goes beyond classroom

Editor, Index-Tribune:

As a parent of two children at El Verano School, I have been reading with great interest all the news coverage in relation to the difficult economic situation that the school district faces. I also read the two Op-ed pieces, one by Dinah Lee, "Great education is not only about high scores," and the other, "School cuts: A generation of children at risk," written by Joshua Pechthalt and Carol Kociva.

I can't tell you how much I appreciated these two opinion pieces because, in both of them, not only do they identify some of the problems, but also some solutions which some schools are already implementing.

In Dinah Lee's letter, she describes how teachers and students are going the extra mile, not because they care so much about the scores required by the state, but because they care for each other.

I can personally tell you that great education goes beyond our classrooms. We find it during our carwash fundraiser, at our Cinco de Mayo celebration, at our Halloween carnival, or our jog-a-thon. And as it is mentioned in the piece written by Joshua Pechthalt and Carol Kociva, "empowering parents through real, sustained involvement is not expensive and has a proven a track record of success."

We have seen that this is true. Because of parent involvement, we have been able to make happen projects and programs such as our community garden, Parent University and we've developed a greater potential in our PTO and ELAC groups.

I have hope that our school board, and our administrators in the district, have the wisdom and the knowledge  it will take to bring together parents, teachers and students to get through these difficult times that await us.

Mario Castillo

EL Verano School parent

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