Letter to SAU 38

To The Sentinel: Below is an excerpt of a letter written to the School Administrative Unit 38 superintendent and school board.

I would like for you to publish this letter, so that families in this school district are aware of the issues.

To SAU 38:

In March of 2007, my husband and I removed our children from Mount Caesar School in Swanzey. They now attend St. Joseph Regional School in Keene. This decision was not taken lightly by us.

However, it was absolutely the right decision for our children and their educational well-being.

I am compelled to write this letter for two reasons. The first reason is to address the disservice done to my children at Mount Caesar School and in the SAU 38 district. The second reason is a matter of doing what is right to correct a situation that affects every child and family in this district. These families either realize the situation at Mount Caesar and do not have the resources or financial means to pursue other educational options, or are ignorant to the poor academic standards to which the children at Mount Caesar are held.

Listening to one of our children complain about not being challenged and seeing the other child turn off to learning drove us to address this matter at the school. I called to discuss this issue with the principal. I inquired as to what Mount Caesar provides to advanced students. I stated that Mount Caesar School caters to low-end, low-ability students.

It does nothing for kids at the other end of the spectrum. I was informed that because of "No Child Left Behind" school staff members were mandated to work with the low-ability students and improve their performance; so yes, they did cater to those children.

When I asked why special programs were not available for enrichment, I was informed that there was no money or resources.

I told the principal that I believed she had the resources in the building to handle both ends of the spectrum. To which I was again informed that there was no money or resources for enrichment.

She then proceeded to inform me that last year they did actually improve the scores of the low-ability children. However, the scores at the top end fell.

We moved our children to St. Joseph Regional School. In the four weeks that they have attended the school, they have been taught grade-level concepts that Mount Caesar did not teach to them.

They are provided unique and creative opportunities to further challenge their language arts and math skills. They love school again and are progressing at a phenomenal rate.

Mount Caesar School failed my children. Mount Caesar School does not uphold the district mission: "The Monadnock Regional School District will strive to provide the best education for every child."

They are not providing the best education for any child. All the children are being held to lower standards so that the low-end children can be successful. The average students would not be average at other schools within the district, within our county or within our state.

The high-end children are being stifled. They are not being challenged enough to reach their full potential.

The district is failing our children. I expect them to correct this issue. There are plenty of resources in Mount Caesar School to provide a strong education for all our children, if they can be creative, use peer mentoring, and better align resources.

If the current administration cannot provide the ideas, leadership and drive to rectify this situation, then the district owes it to the children to find an administrator that can.