Letter from a teacher: Let’s get back to priorities

I am a Kent School District teacher, and I want to go back to work, but only under conditions where I can support the Kent School District’s mission statement to “Successfully Prepare All Students for Their Future,” a mission not reflected in the district’s current priorities and budgets.

Are students in Auburn, Highline, and Federal Way more deserving than those in Kent? Of course not, but the maximum class size for a first-grade classroom suggests they are. Auburn draws the line at 23, Highline and Federal Way at 26, while here in Kent the class can be 31 students. Thirty-one! That means that Kent students get 25 percent less attention per student than Auburn, and 16 percent less than Highline and Federal Way.

Should Kent be a community that punishes its children by limiting their learning opportunities? The district says it doesn’t have the money for these changes, yet other school districts with comparable budgets manage smaller class sizes and higher compensation. Maybe the Kent schools should set up meetings with officials at those districts to see how to better serve our students.

Many say that the current economy makes this a bad time for a strike, but the financial crisis that we are all living through shows just how important it is to give our students a quality education so that they are prepared to face whatever the future throws at them. Shouldn’t the children of Kent have the opportunity to be the top candidates, the most flexible thinkers, and the problem solvers of the future? Can schools help them achieve this with packed classrooms? No one wants Kent students be unable to find a job or transition to another career because of lacking education. That’s why we’re picketing – overcrowded classrooms were an issue we have wanted to resolve since before the financial crisis hit, and the strike is a final resort.

Some see us teachers as money-grubbers, wanting increased salaries in a down economy. Believe me, no one goes into teaching because of the money, and it is not about the money now. It is about the goal of our schools, to “Successfully Prepare All Students for Their Futures,” a goal that requires great, committed teachers. However, the best candidates are likely to go to other districts, as Kent beginning teacher’s salary ranks 80th out of 93 school districts. This fact plus Kent’s top-place ranking for central administration’s percent of the budget in comparable districts illustrates the need to examine priorities.

Think back to your favorite memories from school: do you remember dedicated teachers, or do you remember the superintendent? Kent students deserve the best teachers and reasonable class sizes. Please support our efforts to achieve these goals so we can return to effectively educating the students of Kent.

Sigrid Brunet,

Seattle