|
To the editor:
We, the North Branch Education Association (NBEA, the teachers’ union) believe that it is a privilege to teach the children in the North Branch Area Public Schools. Our kids are bright, creative and eager to learn. They are the future of our community, our state and our country, and they deserve the best education we can give them.
In recent years, the school board has been forced to make significant program cuts; industrial technology, world language, family and consumer science, health, and multiple extra-curricular activities to mention only a few. This spring, the district is looking at yet another round of deep cuts. The NBEA urges the school board members to keep the cuts away from the classroom.
We know that learning is directly linked to a child’s ability to have a significant relationship with a teacher. Reasonable class sizes dramatically affect the formation of that relationship. Class size affects a teacher’s ability to truly understand students’ individual learning styles, to work with them one-on-one, and to develop meaningful lessons and activities.
Our children’s ability to get the highest quality education has already been compromised by years of cuts. Please school board members, do what you can to spare our students from further cuts in curriculum and from crowded classrooms. Make reasonable class size a priority as you finalize your plan to cover our budget shortfall.
Meanwhile, know that North Branch teachers want to be a part of the solution to this problem. We understand the need to have community conversations about the future of this district. We understand that it takes a village to educate a child, and we want to thank the community for the support they’ve given us over the years. Finally, we understand the need for all of us – teachers, administrators, staff, parents and community members – to insist the state fulfill its constitutional responsibility and fully fund public schools.
We are eager to move our district in a positive direction.
Respectfully,
The North Branch Education Association Executive Board
 |
