I start each new school year with my French students by showing them my high school yearbook from 2004. I point to a page where seniors listed their future plans. Mine: “To become a high school French teacher.”
I left my beloved home state over a decade ago to escape the attacks on public education and educators. I was exhausted and defeated after teaching for only three years. Year after year, I had to stand in front of my crying students and explain that due to budget cuts and failed levies, I was being laid off.
It was here in the valley that I found a community and a home to call my own. Over the last 11 years, I’ve continued to share that yearbook page; I’m proof that even high school dreams can come true if you find the right place with people who support you.
This spring as our community decides whether or not to support two Kalispell Public School levies, I feel the same panic. Will this be another year of saying NO, our 16th in a row, to our high school students? Or will we finally say YES?
YES, we need classes beyond the basics like art, music, theater, AP/IB, STEM, etc. YES, we expect our students to have access to mental health and safety resources. YES, we value our community’s storied traditions of athletics and extracurriculars. YES, we want our students in Agricultural Education and Career/Technical programs.
Or will this be the year I or one or more of the over 750 dedicated, passionate KPS employees will have to stand in front of their students like I once did?
Let’s stand up as One Brave Pack for our students and educators. Please vote YES for the Kalispell Public School levies by May 2.
Stephanie Hill
Kalispell