Teacher responds to concerning letters

Editor,

I am a teacher in Worcester County and I recently read some Bayside Gazette Letters to the Editor that concerned me.

Both letters were in relation to the recent Board of Education elections in Worcester County, and both letters had questionable material in it. In one letter, Susan Ostrowski says “politics is a bloodsport” while John Huber said “ This election also showed the tension between Worcester County’s predominantly conservative values and Maryland’s broader state policies.”

Recently, there was a very contentious election for Board of Education seats. The three incumbents, Dr. John Andes, Mrs. Elena McComas, and Mr. Donald Smack, won reelection against opponents who wanted to push their views on Worcester County Public Schools. Board of Education positions are non-partisan, we should not care whether the candidates are conservative or liberal, we should care whether they support public schools or not. We shouldn’t view our BoE candidates as politicians, we should view them as champions of public education.

The challenging candidates have painted themselves as candidates of change. They want to push their views of public education onto Worcester schools, while having very little experience, or connection to WCPS. These candidates are also endorsed and supported by the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition, which is a group that frequently pushes anti-public school rhetoric. DPTC paints all public schools as evil, and even hosts workshops that encourage parents to remove their children from public schools. They do not want to create a “coalition” between parents and teachers, they wish to create a competition between parents and teachers.

The candidates put forth by DPTC do not care about the success of Worcester schools, they only want to sow division and distrust. Not once did these candidates celebrate the achievements of schools throughout the county. Not once did they mention that Ocean City Elementary is ranked as the 2nd best elementary school in the state of Maryland. Not once did they mention that Worcester County Public School students had the highest proficiency on the math and ELA standardized tests in the entire state. Not once did they mention that Stephen Decatur Middle School is ranked as the 9th best middle school in Maryland while Berlin Intermediate is ranked as the 25th best middle school in the entire state.

Not once have they ever celebrated any WCPS student who has achieved success in art, music, academics, sports, or good citizenship. Not once did they mention Stephen Decatur High School Football Team being the first state champions in football from the Eastern Shore in 25+ years. Not once did they mention that the Pocomoke High School field hockey team has won the state championship 3 times in the last 4 years. Not once have they ever said anything positive about the school system, their only comments are negative and degrading.

Beware of the people who run on the position that our schools are doing an awful job, especially when those people have no connection to the schools. As a WCPS teacher, I would invite any parent, teacher, school board candidate, or stakeholder to visit my classroom. I have immense pride in my job and my school system, and would love to share that with the community.

In the future, I implore all Worcester County residents to support school board candidates, and county commissioner candidates that actually support public schools, rather than those candidates that want to tear them down. Worcester County Public Schools is among the best school systems in Maryland, let’s keep it that way by voting for champions, not by voting for detractors.

Kyle Wheatley
Worcester County Public Schools Teacher