To Superintendent John Carmello and the Troy Board of Education,
We the undersigned Troy parents, residents, and neighbors urge you not to eliminate the entire district’s Reading Department and its 25 reading specialists, a majority of which have worked in Troy City Schools for over 15 years. In a district where 71% of students are reading below grade level, this proposal is reckless and will negatively impact all Troy students. We understand the unprecedented nature of this moment the district finds itself in, with looming cuts from the state as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. These past few weeks alone were challenging enough for Troy students and our community. If the Board approves this proposal, It will only increase their struggles when we (hopefully) return to the classroom in the fall. Instead, we call on you to explore other ways to close its budget gap, including tapping more into its reserves, combining or reducing the number of newly created administrative positions, or working collaboratively with teachers and staff to reduce the district’s costs while minimizing the impact on Troy’s students.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
May 18, 2020
May 18, 2020
i cant believe how much energy is behind this right now. seeing so many people stand up for these reading specialists shows the board exactly how much our community cares about our students.
May 16, 2020
just hit 100 signatures and im honestly pretty blown away. thanks to everyone who stepped up this early to take a stand for our reading specialists.
Reached 100 supporters
May 16, 2020
May 14, 2020
we are almost at 100 signatures and i really need everyone to help push us over that mark right now. if you could send the link to a few people today it would be a huge help.
245 Comments
Reading, writing and arithmetic is the basic education each child should have. A Special Reading Teacher, Mr Joseph O’Brien, changed my life in the 70s because I’m dyslexia and I need to find my way of learning.
I was reading at a first grade level when I came in the six grade and took a reading class. had to take reading classes to i graduated and graduated with a B average because of it. if it wasn’t for reading teachers I will never be who I am today.
Thanks to this program, my son is a strong avid reader. He loves books. I can say he wouldn't be as much so without the help and encouragement from the teachers in this program. It would be such a shame to lose a program that I feel is changing how children view reading.
Please stop spending $50 million dollars on a bond for new buildings; instead use the money you would use to pay that bond to keep this teachers. You have already bought the sports center on 5th from Sage; you can always sell it and use the money for the reading teachers. thank you
Reading teachers are critical to our childrens long term success. This is a basic building bloc for everything they do in the future. Common core made every subject so reading heavy that this is borderline cruel to remove this essential tool from pur childrens toolkit.
I believe in Advanced Classes like Math, Reading, etc. Why put the brakes on learning as soon as you can? The best students need support from our Country and schools. I am retired but I was a tenured Michigan middle and high school teacher.
Reading is both a critical skill and a source of joy in people's lives. Don't defund this.
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To Superintendent John Carmello and the Troy Board of Education,
We the undersigned Troy parents, residents, and neighbors urge you not to eliminate the entire district’s Reading Department and its 25 reading specialists, a majority of which have worked in Troy City Schools for over 15 years. In a district where 71% of students are reading below grade level, this proposal is reckless and will negatively impact all Troy students. We understand the unprecedented nature of this moment the district finds itself in, with looming cuts from the state as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. These past few weeks alone were challenging enough for Troy students and our community. If the Board approves this proposal, It will only increase their struggles when we (hopefully) return to the classroom in the fall. Instead, we call on you to explore other ways to close its budget gap, including tapping more into its reserves, combining or reducing the number of newly created administrative positions, or working collaboratively with teachers and staff to reduce the district’s costs while minimizing the impact on Troy’s students.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
May 18, 2020
May 18, 2020
i cant believe how much energy is behind this right now. seeing so many people stand up for these reading specialists shows the board exactly how much our community cares about our students.
May 16, 2020
just hit 100 signatures and im honestly pretty blown away. thanks to everyone who stepped up this early to take a stand for our reading specialists.
Reached 100 supporters
May 16, 2020
May 14, 2020
we are almost at 100 signatures and i really need everyone to help push us over that mark right now. if you could send the link to a few people today it would be a huge help.
245 Comments
These cuts will only exacerbate the inequities of Troy students. Rather than cutting even one teaching position, John Carmello's $275,000 salary should be slashed in half and unnecessary administrative positions in district offices should be reduced or combined.
Reading, writing and arithmetic is the basic education each child should have. A Special Reading Teacher, Mr Joseph O’Brien, changed my life in the 70s because I’m dyslexia and I need to find my way of learning.
I was reading at a first grade level when I came in the six grade and took a reading class. had to take reading classes to i graduated and graduated with a B average because of it. if it wasn’t for reading teachers I will never be who I am today.
Thanks to this program, my son is a strong avid reader. He loves books. I can say he wouldn't be as much so without the help and encouragement from the teachers in this program. It would be such a shame to lose a program that I feel is changing how children view reading.
Please stop spending $50 million dollars on a bond for new buildings; instead use the money you would use to pay that bond to keep this teachers. You have already bought the sports center on 5th from Sage; you can always sell it and use the money for the reading teachers. thank you
Reading teachers are critical to our childrens long term success. This is a basic building bloc for everything they do in the future. Common core made every subject so reading heavy that this is borderline cruel to remove this essential tool from pur childrens toolkit.
I believe in Advanced Classes like Math, Reading, etc. Why put the brakes on learning as soon as you can? The best students need support from our Country and schools. I am retired but I was a tenured Michigan middle and high school teacher.
Reading is both a critical skill and a source of joy in people's lives. Don't defund this.
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These cuts will only exacerbate the inequities of Troy students. Rather than cutting even one teaching position, John Carmello's $275,000 salary should be slashed in half and unnecessary administrative positions in district offices should be reduced or combined.