Printed letters, May 9, 2012

By Staff
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Gosh, I’m going to miss Kathy Jordan. I met Kathy late, just a few years ago, although we had both grown up in what was small-town Grand Junction — the proverbial ships passing in the night.

I bought her book, “Heart of the City,” before meeting her. But when we met, I liked her immediately. I think we shared a common trait that we never suffered from boredom. There’s always something to do.

And I learned to admire her conscience and her ability to listen to it. I do hope her Sentinel family and Teddy can someday put a book together of her columns and her notes. I would certainly buy it.

After attending her funeral and listening to all the people tell their stories of knowing her, it occurred to me that even her life would be a good book. What if all those people wrote down their memories of her and gave them to her family as a memoir? I would like to read that as well.

Young people often scoff at history. I did — well, I didn’t exactly scoff, but I did fail to be interested. But we soon learn as we get older, history is us. It is every day of our life from our first memory along with what our families tell us. And it’s hard to be interested when so much is before us — all that growing up stuff.

Reading your own family’s life is as interesting as reading famous people’s lives. After all, when you read the history of a celebrity is it really so different —that time before celebrity?

Yes, I’ll miss Kathy Jordan, even if I don’t have any “Kathy” stories to tell.

EILEEN O’TOOLE

Grand Junction

Will SB 191 change the need for administrators?

Recently, The Daily Sentinel printed an article by Emily Anderson titled, “Cutting administrators bad idea.” The article was well-written and informative. It was in reference to the school district’s planned budget cuts and where they could occur.

I’m not sure the valley’s parents, voters, educators as a whole or others interested in the district’s funding woes are aware of Senate Bill 191, known as the Educator Effectiveness Bill, or its intent. Surely everyone can agree that teaching effectiveness and student learning can always be improved.

As a life-long teacher and administrator (now retired) in our state, I can attest to ongoing efforts in this regard. I am surprised that this bill, which passed two years ago, will not take effect until the fall of 2013. Why is it taking so long? From what I can understand, although teachers have been evaluated as they should, now administrators will also be evaluated. 

Is this process to change? How is it changing? Who will evaluate the evaluators — and, of course, what is the goal?

And I think that teachers should know the job description of those who evaluate them. Are current administrators going to change what they do daily? Will they spend more time in the classrooms mentoring newer teachers? Have they, themselves, at some time in their careers, been master teachers? I would hope so.

State Board of Education member Marcia Neal, who was formerly on the District 51 school board, seems to believe that this bill will improve teaching and learning.

Will current administrators find themselves under increasing demand to improve teaching and learning? Then there is the premise that we had better not cut administrators so they can do a more effective job. These are tough questions that demand answers.

I have always been suspicious of any mandate coming from above (outside), yet there have to be standards of achievement on the part of administrators, teachers and students.

There are many fine teachers, administrators and schools in our valley. We should Identify them and learn from them.

If building- level administrators and coordinators are not actively involved in improving teaching and therefore student learning, hopefully this bill will bring about that needed change.

F. ROGER LITTLE

Grand Junction

 

Many in community helped establish The House

On behalf of the Karis Board of Directors and homeless teens in our community, I say thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to establish The House. My particular thanks to The Daily Sentinel for its coverage of our efforts.

Because of the generosity of individuals, churches, businesses and civic groups, homeless teens now have a safe place and the resources necessary to move toward a secure future.

As Karis moves forward with this project, we are depending on the community’s continued generosity. As stated in the Sentinel, we have raised over $150,000.

However, these funds will only provide half of the funding we need for years one and two, not the 100 percent stated in the editorial. We are very conservative in our spending, as thrift and value is important to us.

This evidenced by the annual budget of around $150,000 inclusive of labor and housing. However, we indeed trust the rest will be provided, again, by grace that comes to us from this community’s generosity.

DARIN CAREI

Karis Board Chair

Grand Junction