We’re glad to see the Gilroy Unified School District has hired
two new agriculture science teachers, Heather Nolan and Steven
Jackson, for Gilroy High School.
We’re glad to see the Gilroy Unified School District has hired two new agriculture science teachers, Heather Nolan and Steven Jackson, for Gilroy High School.
The hirings mean the district has thus far kept its word not to dismantle the ag program – contrary to speculation by members of the ag community after the GUSD inexplicably fired two seemingly respected ag teachers, David Duarte and Sabrina Olivas-Henry, at the end of this school year. The firing of these teachers, who had increased enrollment in the Gilroy High School ag program, tripled state awards and reaped praise from parents and students.
The decision to let Duarte and Olivas-Henry go sparked rumors that the district planned to decimate the GHS ag program and increased levels of distrust between ag families and GUSD.
That’s why hiring these two teachers, while a good first step, is not enough.
Parent Marcia Linden put it well when she said, “I just hope the new teachers want to grow some roots here and that this is not a revolving door.”
Gilroy – and all of South Valley – has a strong agricultural tradition It’s a lifestyle, it’s our scenery and it’s a business. The business of agriculture is still a very important part of our economic engine.
It’s vitally important and utterly appropriate that Gilroy High School have a strong agriculture science program. That won’t happen with an atmosphere of distrust and a revolving door for ag teachers.
GUSD teacher recruiter Gene Sakahara said all the right things about the recruitment process when he talked to reporter Eric Leins.
“I was looking for a strong level of commitment from the teachers I interviewed,” Sakahara said, acknowledging the widespread perception among ag families that GUSD wants to dismantle the GHS agriculture science program.
Let’s hope Nolan and Jackson are a good fit and that they will stay in their jobs for a reasonable length of time. That, coupled with a similar commitment to the GHS ag program from the school district could revitalize the program.
Agriculture science is important to Gilroy’s students – preparing them for careers in a key industry, helping them earn scholarships, fostering a respect for the environment – and for the community at large.
We’ll be watching to see that everyone involved – from students to parents to teachers to administrators – gives the program the commitment it deserves.
