Support Hampden teachers
RSU 22 teachers have been working without a contract since Sept. 1. Despite this hardship, I continue to be amazed at the professionalism and dedication teachers show inside and outside the classroom for the students they deeply care about. Teachers continue to put in long hours outside of their contractual hours for the educational benefit of their pupils. These teachers deserve all of the support of my fellow community members.
Many excellent teachers from RSU 22 have already left the district since last school year to teach in one of the 10 other local districts that pay between $3,000 and $12,000 more than RSU 22 is paying its teachers. In recent years, the community has added more than $100,000 per year to the school budget for important causes. Shouldn’t student instruction and keeping teachers be vital priorities of the district? The longer the administration of RSU 22 fails to recognize the need to invest in our teachers, teachers will begin to look at other employment opportunities. We will continue to lose quality teachers to neighboring districts and in the end all of our students suffer.
Teachers in RSU 22 need community support now. Please attend and speak at the school board meeting 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, in the library at Hampden Academy. If an RSU 22 teacher has impacted your life or the life of your children, please stand up and help these dedicated educators get the fair contract they deserve.
Elizabeth Flynn
Hampden
LePage and racism
Our governor’s recent racist remarks were not an isolated problem. Many have distanced themselves from him and condemned his remarks, and in doing so distanced themselves from racism. He did not fully understand the implication of his words nor the deep-seated racism in so much of our common life.
The governor is the representative of all of us. Just as the president is the representative of our nation. Because we disagree with them does not change this fact. He is the governor of our state, he did not have a filter to his remarks, so he was unable to maintain a facade of understanding. We live in a state that is 95 percent white. The problems of racism are a part of all of us. It is what has kept this state so white.
American racism is not a black problem, it is a white problem inflicted upon minorities such as blacks. Being ignorant of the problem is really no excuse, and the governor’s ignorance is only indicative of a larger problem in Maine. Few of us are aware of being white when we walk down the street or any other time.
The governor was trying to address the serious problem of addiction in the state and revealed also the problem of racism. To criticize him and not take this as an opportunity to look at our own and the collective guilt in this matter would be a missed opportunity to make serious and noble progress.
Rev. Peter Jenks
Thomaston
Charters schools offer important choice
The BDN’s Jan. 6 report on student withdrawals from Maine Virtual Academy, one of two online public charter schools does not tell the whole story. In a 90-day report to the Charter School Commission, our school identified students who, for a variety of reasons, were no longer enrolled. Among this group were a number of students whose parents stated their intent to enroll, but chose another option without notifying our school. Other students moved out of state or had a health or family circumstance that caused them to withdraw.
These are hardly “dropouts” as was characterized in some media reports. Dropouts commonly refer to students who quit school outright, not those who move or make another choice. Many students on our waiting list filled the place of those who left. Online schools often serve to rescue dropouts who leave traditional schools. Our school serves 265 students statewide and is in the process of enrolling many additional students for the new semester.
Virtual education is not for everyone. Online schools are very different from the traditional model. We work hard to educate parents on what it takes to succeed, but many really don’t know if an online school is the right fit until they try it.
Every child has distinctive needs. Virtual education because of its capacity for individualization is highly successful for many students who have not succeeded elsewhere. Parents deserve the freedom to explore options that they find best. That’s exactly why charter schools, such as Maine Virtual Academy, are such an important choice for Maine families.
Amy Carlisle
Falmouth
Sanders offers ‘new politics’
Maine has a proud independent streak. Forty percent of registered Maine voters are “unenrolled” in a political party. This year, a strong independent candidate is running for president. Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, is leading a “political revolution” that has the potential to reinvigorate and strengthen American democracy for generations to come. The change Sanders is fighting for is exactly the kind of “new politics” President Barack Obama spoke about in his final State of the Union address: a political system that works for all people, and not just for the wealthy and well connected.
The only viable path to the White House for an independent candidate is to secure the nomination of one of the two major political parties. If you want to see Sanders on the ballot in November, he needs your help right now. In Maine, party nominating contests are closed, which means if you want to vote for Sanders in the Maine Democratic Caucus Sunday, March 6, you must be registered to vote as a Democrat. The deadline is Feb. 14.
Sanders has proven that he can bring real change to Washington; he has the money and the support to win in November. He is running his campaign for president, as he has run all his political campaigns, without the backing of corporations, billionaires, or any political party. If he wins, he will truly be an independent — not beholden to any wealthy donors or corporate interests and accountable only to “we the people.”
Maxwell Coolidge
Blue Hill