Letter to the Editor - Thank You Linton Schools

To all faculty, staff, and administrators of Linton Stockton Schools:

On May 23^rd 2009 the last of our two sons graduated from Linton Stockton High School.  Now that both sons have passed through the Linton School system my wife and I want to say a few things concerning the education that they have received.

The day that our oldest son entered Kindergarten my wife and I knew that education would be a partnership.  A partnership between us and the schools that my sons would be passing through.  I knew that we had to do our part in order to ensure that our sons would receive the full benefit of the education that the Linton schools system provided.   If the partnership was healthy and the communication lines were always maintained then my sons would receive the best chance for a good education.   We may not have always agreed with how every teacher taught or how they ran their class, but the partnership allowed us to bring these disagreements to the teacher and the staff.   At no time did we ever feel that our opinion did not matter or was not wanted.  We may not have always agreed with every policy that the Linton school system enacted, but we understood that they were sometimes forced to make changes based upon guidelines coming from a higher authority than the Linton School Board.

There are times when we felt that our sons needed to be pushed more in order to achieve more.  This is really the only major complaint that we have with the Linton school systems.  There should be classes or programs available for those students who wish to be challenged more than the standard classes provided.   Some students want to be prepared better for the colleges that they will be attending after graduation.  When my wife and I attended the Linton school system, the classes seemed harder and the tests seemed harder.  The math, science, and English areas demanded more from the students in the past than they seemed to today. We feel that the weakening of these areas do not prepare them as well for college as in the past. 

All in all it has been a great partnership and with May 23^rd 2009 graduation day passing, our time with the Linton school system is over.   We want to thank all those faculty, staff, and administrators that have been partnered with us for the past 15 years.  You all do great work and do not receive the pay deserved for the important job you do.  We felt that we needed to express our thanks and to let you know that our prayers are with you as you continue to teach in these somewhat trying times.

To all those that have children in the Linton school system, or anywhere for that matter, please realize it is a partnership and you must do your part in order to ensure the best possible education for your child.  Attend all the parent teacher conferences and get involved with your child’s education.   Do not just think that it is the schools job only.  Your child needs you to be involved with what they are learning and how they are doing.