An Open Letter to the Sheridan Community:
As parents of Alice Terry Primary School students and PTO members, we support the up-coming Bond Issue and Mill Levy Over-ride to provide new classrooms, furniture, and electrical power to the buildings and salary increases for the instructional staff of the school district.
At each campus, several classes are currently being held in portable trailers. While these trailers are comfortable and the teachers create inviting learning environments for the children, on numerous occasions during the day, children are moving between the buildings and the trailers. In cold and harsh weather, students moving between the trailers and the main buildings must often walk over ice and snow as well as endure freezing temperatures. The heating and cooling systems in these trailers are often so loud and noisy the students cannot hear the instruction going on inside the rooms. Each trailer has one restroom and drinking fountain to accommodate up to 50 or more students during the day. As parents we find this situation unacceptable. All students deserve the best environment possible so they can concentrate on their studies and academic achievement.
At two buildings, Sheridan High School and Alice Terry, students are at a disadvantage because of the need for renovated science labs and a gymnasium respectviely. The current science labs at the high school were fine for the instructional needs in the 1970's but do not provide advanced equipment necessary for our children to develop the skills necessary to be competitive in the global world in which they will be living in just a few years. Alice Terry is the only campus without a separate gym. The current area is used for breakfast, lunch, PE classes, and assemblies. The staff at Alice Terry must move furniture and equipment a minimum of 8 times during the instructional day to accommodate the daily activities in that area alone. This is a waste of time on the part of custodial staff and teachers. A new gym area would free up instructional time that is currently affected by the lunch schedule causing all the other activities in that shared space to come to a stop for 1 ½ hours during lunch.
Our newest school building, Sheridan High School, was completed in the 1970's before the beginning of the computer age. All of the buildings have additional electrical needs to accommodate the most current technology and give our children the confidence they need to be successful in the 21 st Century. Children are fortunate to have access to computers in every classroom, but the electrical circuits in the buildings do not provide the access needed to run computers and other advanced technology like printers, fax machines, scanners, and Smartboards. Our teachers and children deserve the use of the most current technology at all times during the school day.
Lastly, but most importantly, in the past few years we have observed many wonderfully talented and dedicated teachers leave our district because they need to make more money in order to provide for their families. They know the surrounding districts provide salaries that are aligned with the current pay schedules for teachers in the state of Colorado. It is a crime that our children lose excellent teachers each year because of low pay and inadequate teaching conditions.
As parents and community members, we believe our children in the Sheridan community deserve the finest and best as they prepare for the future. The future begins with our children. If it truly takes a community to raise a child, it is our responsibility to support the up-coming Bond and Mill Levy override in November. We sincerely hope you will take the time to vote and support the efforts of our school district to provide the finest education possible for our children.
Alice Terry PTO Members
Karen Williams, PTO President
Susan Kichler
Lucille Medina
April Pishna
Kim Pishna
Catina Martinez
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