Great students deserve support

Please vote “yes” for the Arlington public schools replacement levy by Feb. 19. The students and schools work hard and deserve community support. As students strive to learn, I’ve witnessed our teachers, principals, staff, administrators and school board working diligently to meet the needs of every child.

As a parent of a junior and a sixth-grader, I am proud that my children are a part of a district where respect and civility matter. I have seen the challenging material our children are working on. I have witnessed excellent instruction and incredibly supportive teachers and principals. I’ve read some amazing work over the years hanging in the halls of our schools where writing classes have helped our children learn to organize their ideas and to write with voice, fluency, correct conventions and good word choices. I have witnessed outstanding math instruction of basic kills, such as multiplication, fractions, decimals and long division, by hand, without the aid of calculators, in addition to deeper problem-solving skills. I’ve seen children in our reading programs grow from emergent readers to strong readers, as well as struggling readers who have worked with reading specialists who now proudly inform me of their improvement.

Arlington Public Schools work hard on behalf of the children of this community and will continue to do so while implementing the state’s next expectation. In addition to the WASL, culminating exhibition and credit requirements, by 2008-09 classroom-based assessments and classroom-based performance assessments will be used statewide in all grades to measure learning of social studies, arts and health and fitness.

Our children and schools need our support. This district kept its promise with our bond dollars. This is not a new tax. Your “yes” vote will count even if you choose not to declare a party. Vote “yes” for Arlington schools Feb. 19!

Denise Schwans