I went to Lakeview Public schools here in Michigan. My parents live in Lakeview and that is where I grew up. This past school year a lot of new teachers and support staff have lost their jobs. This has been happening for years now with out it getting any better. This hit home this past year when 2 of my Aunts lost their jobs with the school district (one was a gym teacher and the other was a Special needs classroom helper) and my mother (Special Ed Parapro) took the early retirement instead of being laid off. The school is a mess now with restructuring everywhere. They have put teachers into positions that they have no experience in, for example, putting a high school special ed teacher into a 2nd grade general ed post. The support staff for students with special needs is practically non-existent. All of the libraries in all of the schools were shut down last year which means no computers are being used or books being checked out. The cafeteria is privatized, busing is privatized. The lower elementary school is shut down or will be shut down soon. However, the superintendent says that the school is not in trouble.
Our whole village is in serious economic trouble and the schools are potentially facing being shut down because of the number of students whose parents have decided to take their children out of the school. I feel that a lot of people have ignored the rural schools and this is the result. We have suffered a lack of funding and a horrible school board for many years. I am hoping that this will show people that the rural areas have a lot of trouble too and it is not just the Detroit schools that are in turmoil.
Click here for the article that made the problem public from the Greenville Daily News.
This article will give you an idea of the seriousness of this problem click here
I totally agree with you. Reading your story made me think that you were writing about my high school.I to am from a rural community and our school is facing a lot of struggles. It is so disappointing to see education decline for a lack of a more appropriate answer to the economic hard times. My mom has been a teacher at the school for a long time. She was a special education teacher that specialized in reading for 18 years. When she started she had students that others would say that they would never graduate. She watched them graduate and go on to college. After 18 years of success they cut her program and made her an over payed aide. I think it is ridiculous the things that the administration will cut. The administration did though spend money to update the football field.
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