I’m the parent of two children in the district; one at the high school and one at Lakeview Elementary School. For nearly a year now, the stakeholders of Albert Lea Public Schools have been forced to watch from the sidelines as major changes are being decided that will affect our children and families. What has happened to the important voice of parents, students, staff, taxpayers and community members when making these significant decisions?

Having worked in education and human resources administration for 12 years, I understand firsthand the unique issues that school districts face and the difficult decisions that have to be made. I want to publicly acknowledge the difficult job that our educational leaders and board members have and thank them for their commitment to education. However, our district leaders must never forget that the public schools are just that — public. They belong to each one of us, and we deserve our rightful place at the table when significant decisions are being made that will impact our children’s education and the future of our schools.

In my opinion, both the strategic planning process and the realignment process should have included a task force made up of community members and school staff from the very beginning in order to allow for input and meaningful participation from all stakeholder groups.

Recently, teachers were informed of their teaching assignments for next year. At Lakeview and Halvorson elementary schools alone, over half of their teachers are being moved to a different building for the 2011-2012 school year. In addition, numerous teachers in the district have been assigned to teach an entirely different grade level next year. Our teachers have worked very hard to build successful teams, develop strong relationships with kids and families and master the curriculum they teach. Why would we break apart these successful teams, sever those relationships, have teachers learn a whole new curriculum and expect increased student achievement as the end result? Maybe I’m missing something here, but how is wholesale change good for our kids?

I am among many concerned parents and community members who believe there are too many big changes being implemented at once without stakeholder participation and support. How are all of these changes setting our kids, teachers, principals and families up for success? Superintendent Mike Funk told the band students and parents at the board meeting this week, “Give change a chance.” I think it’s fair to say they have endured nothing but change for the last six years and deserve some stability!

I believe it’s time to stand up for what is right for our kids and our district — and that’s to have the voice of the public heard and valued again.

Julie Johnson

Albert Lea