Dr. Whitehead cares about her students

I have read several letters and have seen TV reports on how the parents are supporting the Marysville teachers and are against Dr. Linda Whitehead and the school board. I am a parent of a 7th grade student. I am upset by the strike, but I am not supporting the teachers.

I have always found Dr. Whitehead to be a considerate woman who cares about her students. When I have contacted her office, she has called me back within 24 hours and helped resolve any problems my children and I may have had with a teacher or school. This is a response I did not get from the previous superintendent.

I have had two children attend Marysville schools, and have seen first hand how a teacher will just pass a child to the next grade against the parents wishes even if they are failing several subjects, using the excuse that they will learn it next year. Then when the child reaches the high school they are so far behind there is no way they can graduate, and the student is made to feel it is their fault for not knowing how to do the work.

I hope school does start soon. I have told my daughter that if it is with her regular teachers that I will not support any fundraiser (I am a single parent and her teachers make more than I make). I am opting her out of the WASL testing. She has Attention Deficit Disorder and I feel that the extra stress of less study time due to the teachers’ strike is not good for her. I also will be watching for any repercussions that I have seen in the past for speaking out.

Marysville