To the Editor:
As my youngest child approaches graduation and is faced with choices for their future, I reflect on the choices that they’ve made already and the choices that we made as a family for them.
As parents, we chose to raise our children in Warwick, and we don’t regret that choice. Over the years, my children have grown and learned thanks to wonderful educators and the choices that those educators made daily in their classrooms.
Was it always a perfect match? Of course not. No system is perfect for every child all the time. So, when we encountered situations that didn’t work for our children, we made choices that were best for them.
One choice we made was not to have our children participate in high stakes state testing that had no impact on their grades. At the time of this decision, my oldest was the only student to refuse the state tests in the Warwick school district. Many other parents made the same choice in subsequent weeks and years and still do. Many do not.
All this is to say that this choice and others were made for our family, and though I was on the school board for much of my children’s school careers, these remained choices we made for our family. That’s what parents’ rights are about. Deciding what is right for your children and thoughtfully coming up with a plan that fits them. I have friends whose children didn’t find success in Warwick and exercised their right to home school or send their children to private school. That’s also parents’ choice.
There are people in this community that are running for the school board that want to make decisions for everyone else’s children based on their ideologies. Whether or not you agree with them doesn’t matter. The teachers and staff of our schools have had years of education, training, and certification to make sure that they are equipped to make the best choices in the classrooms and within the walls of our schools. Don’t let anyone else tell you that they don’t know what they’re doing. The teachers and professionals in our school buildings made a choice to educate your children long before your children were born. They didn’t just decide to get into education when they wanted more hits for their podcast or as a stepping stone for a political career. That’s not what Warwick needs. Not now, not ever. Vote for candidates that understand the work ahead and won’t waste your time and taxes with a political agenda.
Vote for candidates that care about education and support our teachers. Vote Dory Masefield and Robert Howe for Warwick Board of Education on May 16.
Eilleen Gagliano
Warwick