Opinion: Towards a better school system for Saba

Dear Editor,

It is very sad to see where we have come since teachers and Mr. Hemmie were told we were no longer needed at SCS. The Board and the powers to be should have taken a hint from the protests of the students, the teachers and the community….but they did not.

I wish you, the public, could have been a fly on the wall at our final teachers meeting in June of this year. Everyone was sad and upset because we, as a family, were being broken up by people who did not have a clue of our dedication and loyalty to one another and to our students. We gave our hearts and our souls and it was not enough…we were discarded like yesterday’s newspaper.

I still wonder what motivated the ‘old board’ to do what they did but the damage has been done. I will say that, while I was at SCS, there were trials and tribulations and challenges everyday, but I will tell you that we, as teachers and staff, worked through our issues and we made your children’s education our priority. We were not saints and we may have made some mistakes (we are only human) but we did not deserve the treatment that we received. Contrary to statements made by the ‘ex-board’ we were not told why our contracts were not being renewed. In a letter to a parent it was said that the school was going in a ‘new direction’ …… well looks like someone took a wrong turn.

That is the past and we have to move forward but we should learn from these past experiences.

I am going to say this publicly and some people may not like this, but get rid of this system of ‘Foundations’ that create private playgrounds were ‘Boards aka Families/Friends’ are allowed to hide under the guise of privacy and not be accountable to the public. Get rid of two separate systems of education and make the system a ‘Public School’ system. Your children deserve better.

But let me also say …. Parents get involved…. Ask you children about their homework, about their day at school and encourage them to do their best…most of all find out what you children are learning (or not learning). Students should have homework assignments….if they don’t then there is something wrong.

Terry Cunningham