Honor student voices,concerns

Recently, the La Conner School District administration decided to not renew the contract of one of our beloved teachers. This decision was not only damaging to student morale but also detrimental to student learning. In direct defiance of a petition containing the signatures of 73 high school students and letters of support from other staff members, our principal and superintendent chose to let go of the only math teacher in the high school. A dedicated, hard-working teacher who loved La Conner and gave countless hours of her free time to help her students will no longer be working at LCHS next fall.

Compounding the problem, our administration refused to meet with students to address our questions until after the decision was finalized. This effectively rendered all of the concerns we brought to the table useless as the damage had already been done. Our school has long been praised for its tight-knit feel and strong sense of community. In recent years, however, we seem to be feeling less and less like a family. We believe this is largely due to district leadership that consistently proves to be out of touch with the concerns of their students and staff alike.

We firmly believe that the wellbeing of students should be at the forefront of every decision made by a school district.

We feel as if our school has failed us on this front.

Despite our administrators speaking frequently of increasing student voice, La Conner School District has squandered this opportunity to really prove to students that our opinions do matter and our voices are heard.

In a world that feels increasingly insecure and out of control, students have been disenfranchised and have lost a teacher they trusted.

After the turmoil we have experienced over the past few years, it is time La Conner School District is reminded that students are the ones most affected by their decisions.

Student voices must be honored, not ignored.

Sincerely,

Domenic Wilbur, student board representative; student body president Yareli Lopez, student board representative, MacQuaid Hiller, student body vice president Charity Jordan,

student body treasurer