I am writing this letter to tell everyone a little bit about what I see at the Cavalier Public School. I think I am very qualified to be the person that should know what is happening at the school because I am the elementary principal and I am now beginning my 8th year at the Cavalier Public School. I am also a mother of a child that graduated from the school and two children that are still attending. I have many years in education and have attained my master’s degree in education and several graduate credits beyond that degree. My parents were educators as well, so as you can see, I am not just a bystander looking into the education system. I have made the education system my life.
The reason I first decided I should write a letter was to encourage the citizens of Cavalier to vote yes on the school’s upcoming building project. We have held several facility tours and presentations to share with the public some of the concerns and safety issues we have with the Cavalier Public School building and also provide a time where the public could, in turn, ask questions or voice their concerns. For or against the building project everyone’s voice would be able to be heard at those meetings. (A much better way to talk about issues with each other rather than printing one-sided stories in the newspaper.) Before I could get a letter drafted, several letters were published attacking the education system in Cavalier.
I go to work every day at the Cavalier Public School. I am around all the students--preschool through 12th grade. I am able to observe teachers teaching and students learning. I listen to parents talk about their children. I sit at the table with a team of teachers and parents developing the best plan for individual students to succeed in their education. I see the many hours that staff put into their job so that their students can have well-planned lessons. I see children entering the school with smiles on their faces and eagerness to share and learn with each other. We teach students beyond the subjects that can be tested, but they can certainly be displayed in our community. Those subjects are as follows:
Don’t put others down, be kind, work well together, encourage one another, don’t be a bully or a bystander, stand up for what is right, and tell the truth. These items aren’t able to be tested on the state assessment.
The Cavalier School is continuously working to improve the education process because that process is ever changing. We analyze data and make changes and improve curriculum and teaching strategies. We provide several professional development days for our staff to continue their learning and apply what they learn to the classroom. As our world changes our classrooms change, it is a constant process. Our goal is to become the best educational site; a goal no one at the Cavalier School will ever give up on. I really do think that the majority of this community are supportive of our efforts and will cheer us on in our path to get there!
I believe we need to compliment our student body at the Cavalier School. They are working hard to become well prepared for some jobs that aren’t even on the horizon yet. They have to be able to compete in a world that is ever changing and facing many of its own challenges. At least in the small town of Cavalier we should be able to make the extra effort to give our children a safe, up-to-date school building. We may not have a lot of influence in other things in our world that our children will have to face, but we definitely have control of this building project if we all step up to the plate and vote yes.
Yes, a school is more than a building and we will continue to educate your children the best we can with or without an updated building. I am proud of our school and all the people that make it great-- students, parents, staff, and community!
Yes! Yes! Yes! If you agree that Cavalier children deserve this! It is not about us, it is about them.
