The Whitehorse story along with the spring elections for the Madison School Board, at times, tend to further a narrative that much is wrong with what takes place in the classrooms. But if we only pay attention to that narrative we would miss the good work that is happening in our schools. A teacher and her nineteen fifth-graders, while not making top of the fold coverage, is the flip side to the news we all have come to know.
Two weeks ago my partner, James, and I sat for an hour in a very busy and creative classroom at Falk Elementary School. Over the school year a number of adults sponsored a student so that each month a new book landed in their hands. The effort was made possible in tandem with Scholastic Books and related services. The school reached out to say thanks with Read Your Heart Out Day. What I witnessed made an impression that lifted my spirit about teachers, students, and our schools.