News Category

Category: News

The Value of Lived Experiences

I cannot imagine commenting on what should or should not happen in a private school. Why? I have never had a child attend a private school. Molly and I discussed sending our kids to private school many times, as we both have friends who did attend private schools. However, each time, we decided public school was best for our children. Marshall County Public Schools served both of us well and prepared us for successful careers.

We have had the pleasure of all three of our children attending Maury County Public Schools. Our daughter graduated from Central High School in 2022. She received a full academic scholarship to the University of North Alabama. She attended Spring Hill Elementary, Marvin Wright Elementary, Whitthorne Middle School and Central High School. We have two sons who attended Marvin Wright Elementary, Woodard Elementary, Whitthorne Middle School, Mt Pleasant Middle School and now attend Mount Pleasant High School.

Throughout these journeys, we have met incredible teachers, like Abby White, Katherine Bush, Tammy Quinn, Emma Hoath, Alana Colvett and so many more. We have met great administrators like Stan Curtis and Eric Hughes. We have met great SROs like Deputy Johnson and Deputy Cook. These people have left indelible marks on our children.

Throughout these journeys, we have also experienced the trials and tribulations of ParentVue, Remind, Class Dojo, iReady, Study Island, EdPuzzle, Delta Math, Savvas, Progress Learning and the other litany of software programs and apps.

We have experienced the joys and heartbreaks of public school athletics, as Abby was in band, Jack and Cole played basketball, and Cole currently plays football. We have witnessed volunteers giving endless hours of their time because our schools simply cannot afford the expensive coaching staff larger school systems can.

We have experienced the controversies of our children being accused of things, such as having a vape when they did not, being accused of initiating a fight when they did not, being exposed to COVID when they weren’t even in the same classroom, and being marked absent when they were very much at school. After a civil conversation with the affected schools’ administration, these issues were all resolved and our children vindicated. However, this vindication required navigating a very cumbersome school system hierarchy.

What we have learned is public school isn’t perfect. No system is. We have learned, unless you have an advocate to help navigate the school system, it is complicated and confusing. We have learned the administrators of our school system are people just like us, who make mistakes and ultimately want to do the right thing.

As I look forward towards the August election, I wonder how can someone without these lived experiences understand the needs of our children, teachers and parents, better than someone who does have these lived experiences? My answer is simple: They can’t.