Dear Editor,
In response to the letter by Jackie Stevens, I would like to
highlight the fantastic teachers at El Roble Elementary School and
Brownell Middle School.
Dear Editor,
In response to the letter by Jackie Stevens, I would like to highlight the fantastic teachers at El Roble Elementary School and Brownell Middle School. Stevens suggests that the district does not promote the Rucker Elementary School Gifted and Talented (GATE) program very well. I disagree, and think that by demanding that the district should do even more, she diminishes the work of teachers at the other elementary schools.
Two of our children attended Rucker’s GATE program in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade. Rucker was the GATE magnet school then, as it still is, but there was no neighborhood school concept and we were not aware of any special programs offered to students at other schools for high-achieving students.
There may well have been programs, but being new to the community we had to rely on district brochures and word of mouth, so we choose Rucker to have our children benefit from the GATE teachers and program.
When all the magnets, with the exception of Rucker, were replaced by a system of neighborhood schools, our youngest attended El Roble his first two years. The GATE program does not start until third grade, and Joel will be tested at the end of this school year. My expectation is that even if Joel scores high enough to be in the GATE program, we will probably leave him at El Roble because of the teachers he had in his first two years.
In kindergarten, he had Socorro Vasquez, and in first grade Molly Leach. Both teachers are fabulous. They are high-energy teachers, focused on academics and the strength of each individual child. Both teachers were able to work with all their students and reach very high levels of proficiency for all. If their teaching skills are any indication of the other grades at El Roble, I feel confident that Joel will receive a very in-depth education during his years at El Roble and there is no need to change school for his third through fifth grade.
The oldest two children who did attend Rucker went on to middle school at Brownell. There we saw magnificent teachers who catered perfectly to the needs of the two GATE students. Of course, some teachers do better than others. But, with the right amount of parent involvement, teachers at Brownell and El Roble (including their principals) are as good as the teachers and principal at Rucker.
Rucker’s GATE program is a good program, and I hope that enough parents will continue to enroll their children to have it continue. But we should not take away from the great work that’s happening at other schools. As School Trustee Tom Bundros said in the Dispatch recently: “I think that parents have more confidence that their GATE identified students can get the support they need at their neighborhood schools.” I fully agree.
Rob Van Herk, Gilroy
