I would like to address the discussions on South Westerns board professional development groups.

There has been a lot of negative and misleading comments about this board pushing English only education and segregated classrooms.

As far as English only - South Western City Schools already teaches English only - all of our curriculum that the Board approves is in English - we do have other materials that staff use in South Western TESOL program for our ELL Students so we can teach them English.

The purpose of our TESOL program is working toward English Language proficiency. Of course our foreign languages, French, German and Spanish, are all being taught as well.

Segregated classrooms - again, we already separate students depending on what is best for that student. We have - General Classrooms; Cross Cat Classrooms; Stock Waits; Behavior Focused; Strive Classrooms; Low Incidence Classrooms; and others.

Despite the hysteria, nothing has changed. Teaching English and helping all students of various needs have been the norm in the South Western School district for a very long time.

The current South Western Board is committed to exploring all resources to achieve the district's goals, including engaging with diverse school board associations. This is about healthy debate and considering all constructive opinions to benefit our 2100+ students across 119 square miles.

Our students are succeeding thanks to the incredible dedication of our staff, administrators, and teachers. Don't let negativity overshadow the great things happening in South Western City Schools. Let's focus on supporting our students and the positive work being done.

Thank you again,

Please reach out with any questions, comments or concerns

Denise D'Angelo Steele
South Western City School Board Member