The Resident is to be commended for its efforts to highlight activities and programs at our neighborhood schools. However, the emphasis is often on problem areas, and the excellent educational experience our neighborhood children are experiencing at these fine institutions goes unmentioned.
A case in point is the recent article on principal Pat Day's successful campaign to improve student attendance at Willow Glen High School. The "tough love" focus left the reader with the impression that the school is mainly characterized by high truancy and the need for counselors and intervention programs.
With rare exceptions (such as last year's coverage of the new Leadership Club or in the sports pages), we do not see the faces of neighborhood students involved in school activities or academic pursuits. How about an article on the bumper crop of neighborhood students in this year's freshman class? Why not cover the excellent Honors and Advanced Placement classes (more AP classes than at any other high school in the district), the large new spirit squads, the excellent Mock Trial team, the scholarships and wonderful social events for students and parents sponsored by the active Parents' Club, or an update on the $1.5 million Annenberg Grant from the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative.
Do your readers know that college entrance SAT scores for neighborhood students at Willow Glen High School are competitive with those for Leland High School students? Or that Willow Glen Middle School has the lowest absentee rate of all middle schools in the district?
Parents are filling out their school choice forms this month--neighborhood schools deserve more positive coverage! Thanks.
Steve and Kathy Stark, Karen Johnson,
Larry and Judy Hopkins, Margaret Ervin,
Laura Carroll, Wendy Watkins,
Gail Hodgin , Lani Aliason,
Bob and Karla Miller,
Jeff and Ann Addington,
Carole Demkowski
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
