Letters: A goal of student success; Support candidates willing to answer questions

Editor’s note: The CDT welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the May 16 primary election and will accept letters that are received by May 11. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.

A goal of student success

When I first ran for school board eight years ago, it was to support follow-through on the new high school project. Since then, I’ve come to care about so much more.

State College Area School District is a moderate-sized district with a surprising amount of complexity. Enacting substantive change can be challenging. Nothing taught me that more than our work on expanding the elementary day, which had been the shortest in the state, in order to better address the needs of students with challenges. That effort revealed so much about the intricacy of district operations, as well as the varying perspectives of our community.

In particular, that experience taught me how difficult it can be to restructure public schools to better serve struggling students. For decades, schools have largely been designed to serve the majority, but today we strive toward a bigger goal — to serve all students and equip them for success.

So much foundational work has occurred, not just in SCASD but in all of public education, and I am excited to advocate for a system where all students are safe, welcome and nurtured to become their best selves; and most of all, where students are provided the resources to meet each of their unique needs.

This is the reason I am running again for SCASD school board. This is the reason I have joined the Slate for State, with Gretchen Brandt, Anne Demo, Dan Kolbe and Aaron Miller. We hope to have your support on May 16.

Support candidates willing to answer questions

I noticed in a recent CDT article that the “Win4Bellefonte” candidates for Bellefonte school board were not going to attend and answer questions at the League of Women Voters of Centre County’s Candidates’ Night. I wondered why we would trust them to represent us if they don’t. Wouldn’t candidates who are seeking votes want to get their message out to the parents, students and community? Why wouldn’t they be willing to answer questions from the community in a bipartisan forum? It certainly sounds like they are hiding something about their plans for the district and its students. On the other hand, other candidates — Korin, Yech, Dombrowski, Fitzgerald and Smith — attended the forum and were willing to answer questions. They sound like candidates who are honest and trustworthy about their ideas. Let’s listen to their ideas and vote them onto the school board!

Vote in support of libraries

“If these writings of the Greeks agree with the book of God, they are useless and need not be preserved; if they disagree, they are pernicious and ought to be destroyed.” Thus, according to a spurious story did a caliph order the burning of the Library of Alexandria (totally false, it had burned much earlier).

This is the kind of reasoning of today’s Republicans. They do not like that certain books are in the library so in Missouri they voted to cut off all public funding for all libraries. Nevermind how many other valuable books are there. Nevermind all services that libraries provide. Nevermind that a library is where we can learn about the Western Heritage in all its glory and complexity. There are bad books there (according to those who think Michelangelo’s David is pornography) so they must all be burned.

If you value your library, if you use any of its services and cannot imagine not having them, then know that Republicans are your enemy and vote accordingly.

Hiding from voter scrutiny

What a surprise!

The United 4 SCASD candidates were unwilling to attend an open candidates forum.

Instead, they set up their own panel where they could control the questions asked. That’s a great sign of their open engagement with the entire community.

They are hiding from voter scrutiny, just like they are hiding their agenda.

If you like book banning, closeting LGBTQ+ youth, and micromanaging what is taught with a radical right agenda, you are going to love this crew.