I was absolutely appalled as I looked at the front page of the paper today, and it is requiring me to write! I am so ashamed and embarrassed of our City Councilors and the Eddy County Commission. Why, you ask? Because they are not in support of our students who desperately need a different learning environment and the counseling that Eddy Alternative School provides. It appears by the article that first the Eddy County Commission botched their budget. They had said they would provide $150,000 and the City would provide $150,000 for the running of this school. They say they shouldnt have put that much in their budget and so they pulled every dime from the school. Really?! And then City Council almost acted so immature I would swear they were students at an elementary school by saying, If they arent going to put any money in, then Im not either! How childish! So now our students who are at their most desperate will not receive an education at Eddy Alternative School. These students, for whatever reason, are not able to learn in the typical school environment. They have been expelled from their home school for behavioral issues. At Eddy, these kids were getting the needed one-on-one support they needed to overcome their individual educational deficiencies. They were also receiving counseling services to help them understand themselves better and learn how to make good decisions. Most of these students were several grade levels low on their reading level. Guess what? There is a direct correlation between a students reading level and their behavior in the classroom. Those students will act up 99% of the time so their peers dont know they are behind or slow. This school allowed these students to grow and blossom. I was so blessed this last year to work with the students and teachers at that school. Those students were MY students when I was at Alta Vista Middle School. I knew their stories and where they were lacking in their education. I then was blessed to see them grow in their education way beyond what was expected. I am so disappointed there is no place for these students this year except at a regular school. That means by mid-term, I would estimate many of those students will be expelled from their schools and at home, plus other students who werent students at that school this year. What happens when they are home and usually unsupervised because mom and dad work? The police and sheriffs office can tell you. This decision not only affects those students, but their families and the community. The United Way believes in these kids. They provided a huge grant for a library for those students that we had installed by the end of the year. The kids were able to use it for the last month of school and you should have seen the looks on their faces when they realized someone they didnt know believed in them. I couldnt wait to see them in the library this year. How dare the county commissioners and the city council not believe in these kids! Everyone should pick up the phone and start calling their city councilors and county commissioners. Ask them why they dont believe in our kids. Eddy Alternative School must be in existence. It must. Lets make it happen! Lorie Mitchell, Eddy Alternative Librarian Carlsbad High Librarian Parent of two children in the CMS Schools
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:51:15 +0000
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