We, Aleks Mishchenko (9th grader at Lexington High School) and Ben Liu (10th grader at LHS), are writing about our deep opposition to recent cuts to Lexington Public Schools, sentiments also expressed by the LHS student body.
After observing a town meeting and a financial summit regarding teacher layoffs, we were shocked that the decision process was ignorant of student voices. There was a lack of consideration, or even acknowledgement, of the opinions of the students of Lexington during the meeting. We, the students, are the ones who are affected by the austerity measures on the education system, yet our voices are ignored in the actual decision making.
On the 6th of April, we sent an opinion survey via google form and email to the whole Lexington High School student body. A month later we have received 605 responses from students, a bit over one-quarter of the student population. We strongly encourage anyone interested to view the statistics here.
The vast majority of the student population was predictably against the teacher cuts, clearly shown by the 77%* of students being against them. That’s almost 4 in 5 kids. LPS’s academic excellence – its whole culture and identity – can be attributed to connections between teachers and students far more than textbooks or testing. In our journeys through school, the defining experiences haven’t been using new technology or receiving good grades, but being inspired by a teacher who genuinely supports and believes in us. 72% of students agree with this. This is also the percentage who find the education cuts to be a shock (just like us, in fact!).
Regardless, as 2 in 3 students are going to lose a (cherished) teacher, there is a real possibility of these cuts leaving consequences for the academic and emotional health of many students in LHS. It’s also easy to see the wider consequences of this decision, as 90% of students whose parents moved to Lexington did so because of academics, so these measures may start a feedback loop where education and immigration decline.
We would like to finish by saying there needs to be significantly more transparency with students about these decisions (90% agree!). For example, in December LHS students were very excited about the new building; now more are berating it for its cost since we didn’t know our teachers would get cut for it! And not just transparency, but our voices need to have a place in school matters, something currently somehow lacking.
*All statistics taken from our poll
Aleks Mishchenko and Ben Liu