Get School Priorities Right

Get School Priorities Right

Editor, The News:

The Ann Arbor Board of Education was presented last week with a proposal that would establish another alternative school in the system. That proposal calls for an alternative school to be housed at Forsythe Junior High School and it would accommodate between 96 and 150 seventh and eighth graders—or about 13 per cent of the total enrollment. The minimum proposed budget for the school is set at $4,800.

If the school board decides to approve this alternative school for such a small minority of students—we cannot help but brand this as one of their hypocritical decisions.

For the past three years we have tried desperately to secure enough teachers to run three small houses at Forsythe. The first year we were successful—we got our 12 teachers— but on the condition that two of us take on sixth teaching assignment— without extra pay.

Last year we were not so successful—we lost two seventh grade academic teachers—and disrupted one small house so that at least 2 1/2 small houses could remain intact.

This year the conditions didn't change much—we lost two more teachers and crammed the seventh graders into two houses raising class sizes to around 30 students.

So what? Big deal—poor teachers have to deal with 30 kids in a class instead of 20 or 25. The big deal is that last semester 31 per cent of the present seventh grade at Forsythe tested in reading below a sixth grade level. These are the real people who got the short end of the stick and have had to suffer. They need smaller classes.

If the school board approves the funding of this new program we think it’s only fair that they provide matching funds for the children at the bottom—and in the middle. It’s time they got their fair share—instead of having to put up with hatchet jobs.

C. Judith Conrad

Lulu Halpern

Forsythe Teachers