Past time to do something about schools

Dear Editor,

My name is Anne Kennedy.

My husband, Jason, and I have called McCook home for 10 years. We have two daughters who are students in the McCook Public School system. When we moved to McCook, we were excited about all that it had to offer. We noted excellent health care, safe neighborhoods, and affordable living.

We were also excited to hear that a new elementary school was being planned for, in the near future. That was 10 years ago.

I will speak from three different perspectives. First, I will try to explain my experiences from a professional's point of view, second as a school volunteer, and finally as a parent.

When we relocated to this area, I was student teaching at East Ward, and I was allowed to tour all of the Ward sites. At that time, I had definite concerns about the state that the buildings were in, especially East and West. They were outdated, inadequate and more importantly, unsafe. Some of my background is in special education, and it was very obvious that the buildings were not set up to accommodate regular education students properly, let alone special needs students.

If you have not read the informational brochure that is being circulated, please do. If you don't feel that you have time to read it all, I urge you to at least open it, scan down the first page, to the very bottom. You will find a section that outlines the areas in these buildings that do not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This information, alone should move us to immediate action.

I still spend a lot of time in the elementary schools as a volunteer.

I have been involved with the after school art program at both North and East Ward, and I have been in charge of organizing the scholastic book fair at North Ward for the past year. Because of the lack of space, the success of both of these events has been hindered.

On Tuesdays, I volunteer to listen to students read. I'll try to give you an idea of the atmosphere in which we have to do this activity.

I sit, with the student, in the hallway, where classes are passing to and from recess. At the end of the hall, and within earshot, is a makeshift space for title students to work with their teacher. Next, and a little closer to us, sits a single desk where another young student comes to work with a volunteer. Each one of these circumstances, by themselves, may not warrant spending 5.8 million dollars to build a new facility, but combined with the many other limitations of these buildings, they present an excellent argument for making a change!

I have watched dedicated teachers and students "make do." I have also watched these buildings steadily deteriorate, and I honestly believe that it doesn't have to be this way. I often hear comments such as, "We did it, and we were fine," or "there are kids learning in far worse conditions." Should these comments comfort us into complacency? Should we continue to not change or progress in an ever-changing world? I don't believe that this is wise nor, is it fair to expect professional educators and children, to work and learn under the present conditions.

I look around McCook today and see progress. Some examples are the recent renovations at the Community College and at the Senior Center, as well as new construction at our Community Hospital. All of these renovations were done to meet the needs of the members of this community.

It's time to address the needs of our children and the professionals who teach them.

As a parent, I am in North Ward on a daily basis. My oldest daughter is a special needs student. She has to leave the main building twice a day to receive services. This wastes time and is also a safety concern for me. I wonder how the situation would be handled if she were physically disabled?

My children will not directly benefit in a physical way from a new school building, as they will have moved on to Central before the building is completed. But they will benefit indirectly. This is about the future of our children. It is about our community's future, as well. You are mistaken if you do not see that the two are connected. We want to have a complete package to offer to new families considering a move to McCook. We want a thriving town for our children to come back to, to raise their families.

It is past time to do something about this. The board has listened to the public. The members have gone back to the drawing board, and action must be taken now. I do not view this issue as controversial. I view it as critical! Taxes go up, and the cost of living goes up. This is inevitable, so lets have something to show for it! It's a small price to pay for living the good life!

Thank you,

Anne Kennedy

McCook