Cell phones are source of trouble in schools
To the editor:
Thank you for the invitation to provide input on the issue of student cell phone use in middle school. I would like to address this topic from a middle school principal's point of view.
The dramatic increase in the availability and use of cell phones by students has had a direct impact on schools. Unfortunately, the impact is often negative, particularly as the technology becomes more sophisticated. We realize that the overwhelming majority of students have cell phones for personal use. However, middle school students may not always make good decisions about when it is appropriate to use them. The results can be very disruptive and sometimes quite dangerous.
Here are some examples of how cell phones have been abused by students. These examples are all based on actual incidents:
r Students have received phone calls during class.
r Some students make personal calls while in the lavatory or other common areas.
r Students frequently attempt to send and receive text messages during class.
r Some students have taken photographs or video of students and staff without permission and posted those images on the Internet.
r Students have photographed other students in compromising situations, i.e. in the lavatory and in the girls locker room.
r Students have used their phones to ask parents to dismiss them due to illness without going through the school nurse.
r Students have sent threatening text messages to other students during the school day.
r Students have used text messages to discuss test items on a test being administered in school.
r Students have used cell phones to make plans to go to a friend's house after school without notifying parents.
I'm sure that my colleagues could offer many more examples. We recognize that families need cell phones to maintain communication in today's busy world. However, schools must set policies to curtail the use of phones during school hours to protect the overall safety and security of the learning environment. I trust that the majority of students and parents will support such an effort.
ROLAND BOUCHER
Haverhill
Principal
Marshall Middle School
Billerica
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Misinformed voters rejected teacher contract
To the editor:
On behalf of the students and teachers of the Sanborn Regional School District, I am writing this letter to explain why a Special School District Meeting is warranted.
At the School Board meeting of April 2, I articulated that teachers are frustrated, disappointed and discouraged and that education will suffer because of it. Low morale, teacher unrest and teacher turnover are logical consequences of that vote. Teachers and students both lose. I also stated that the district cannot afford to lose new teachers. The turnover rate has been too high in Sanborn and the denial of the teacher contract is only going to perpetuate that trend.
Many teachers will be taking home significantly less money than they did this current year due to salaries remaining fixed while health care costs increase dramatically. Many families will be hit hard and this may very well create financial crises. Teachers are "regular people." They have bills to pay, gas and oil tanks to fill, mortgages, children to support — everything — just like everybody else.
There is also an issue specific to the high school where teachers do not perform "duties" because of the block scheduling practice and current language in the contract. Throughout negotiations, the board cited this as a supervision and safety concern. A new contract would have rectified this situation but with its defeat, nothing changes.
Finally, I noted that the school district's deliberative session was confusing and there was a substantial amount of misunderstanding. Some people walked out of that meeting thinking that the tax rate was increasing by 26 percent. What ensued were rumors and misinformation resulting in misinformed voters going to the polls. The following public comments from the School Board meeting of April 2 substantiate this claim.
One speaker referred to the thorough budget presentation given by the board three to four years ago and asked that it be presented like that again to better inform the community. (Translation: The budget presentation this year was not thorough and the community could have been better informed.)
Another speaker admitted that she did not vote because she was sick but if she had, she would have voted against the budgets based on the tax rate increases in the brochure mailed by the board that didn't make sense to the community. She went on to say that had she been better informed she would have supported the professional staff contract. (Translation: The information mailed to residents was confusing and, consequently, the citizenry was not well-informed of the issues. If they had been, they may very well have supported the teacher contract.)
These are very telling words and compelling reasons to request a Special Meeting from the Superior Court. I am certain that those people were not the only two voters in the Sanborn community that were confused. Give the community accurate information and all the facts and the opportunity to go back to the polls as well-informed voters.
BRUCE STERN
President
Sanborn Regional Education Association
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Immigrants need our support
To the editor:
I attended a Rally for Immigrant Justice in Lawrence on Sunday sponsored by Merrimack Valley Project. More than 400 people from local churches, unions, social service and community groups met at Christ United Methodist Church on Haverhill Street. School officials from Lawrence and Lowell were also present, as were elected officials in state government.
The church was standing-room only as individuals told their stories about immigration to this country. The stories were painful, and reflected how difficult it was to get to this country and their treatment after they arrived. Adults spoke about their tragic journeys — leaving their country because of civil war and personal danger, time spent in prison in Boston, and another still trying to get asylum. Youths who have graduated from local high schools spoke about the inability to pay out-of-state tuition costs to study at local colleges. Legal staff spoke of the lack of funding for legal services in the Merrimack Valley.
Dozens of clergy from throughout the Merrimack Valley signed a letter to the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee to request additional funding for legal services for immigrants. The superintendent of Lawrence schools and a member of the Lowell School Committee both agreed to make sure the schools were safe for students and parents. A local state representative, William Lantigua, from Lawrence, agreed to advocate for additional funding for legal services. Sen. Susan Tucker was unavailable to attend at the last minute.
The event was well planned and very informative. Hats off to those responsible for planning the event and for the many people who took the time to attend.
MARY TODD
Lawrence
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