Letter to the Editor: Grant Wood PTO Argues For Helping Each Other to Common Goals of Equity

Editor's Note. The following is a letter submitted to the editor. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, e-mail it to me at stephen.schmidt@patch.com, or post it directly to the site by clicking this link.

Opinion: All of Our Schools are All of Ours

Our school, Grant Wood Elementary, is often highlighted as an example of a school with disproportionately high needs. 

We’re reminded, during heated debates at long school board meetings, that our school is well above the district average for students who quality for free and reduced lunch, that we’re labeled a school in need of assistance, and that we have kids overflowing our 44-year-old building into five classroom trailers on the front lawn. Like all parents in the Iowa City Community School District, we want solutions because we care passionately about our own kids.

But when contentious issues face us, our kids, and our schools, it’s easy to lose sight that we’re in this together.

The Iowa City Community School District Foundation wants to raise $2 million to put 21st century technology, including projectors, document cameras and SMARTboards, in every classroom in the district. They believe kids and teachers will benefit from access to this technology.

Despite our other disadvantages, our own kids already have SMARTboards in their classrooms, and they rave about them. Our teachers do, too. But a lot of classrooms in the district have yet to be equipped with these interactive educational tools that our own kids are able take for granted.

That’s exactly why the we, Grant Wood PTO, are committing $1,000 to the Foundation’s EveryClassroom campaign. Because we believe in the campaign’s goal to add technology, and to do so equitably. We think all our kids deserve the same opportunities and that it’s our job to help achieve this.

We believe that our community schools — all of them — are our responsibility, no matter which building our kids attend to learn in every day. It’s our job, as parents and community members, to work for equity across our district. We all want the best for our kids, but it’s our job to do the best for everybody’s kids. Help us get there as a whole community.

~ The Grant Wood Elementary School PTO