EDITOR:

I am writing this letter in response to the recent termination of Dale Harris from Carney-Nadeau Public School. I graduated from CNPS in 2008. Dale was a teacher who not only taught his students the curriculum, but who also taught life lessons. Dale was a teacher who made you want to excel not for him, not for your parents, but for yourself. He inspired us all to be more than we thought we could be.

Dale’s classes not only prepared me for college, but for life. I have a distinct memory of reaching out to Dale my first semester at MSU and thanking him for being a great teacher. His response, as always was humble and grateful. All he ever wanted of the students he cared so deeply for was to succeed.

His assignments not only challenged us academically, but they made us dig deep and explore who we were as people and who we wanted to become. He always treated us as human beings, he saw us for who we were not just students passing by year by year. Dale had every one of his senior students take on a disability and write a paper about the project. This project taught us compassion, determination, and empathy. Lesson seldom taught in your average English classroom. Dale was a one-of-a-kind teacher. In his classroom we weren’t misfits, athletes, nerds, or any other label, we were people — individuals.

My senior year we each painted a ceiling tile to leave a lasting mark on our school. My tile reads “For a hero is not found by the strength of a man but, by the strength of his heart”. Dale Harris is a hero. He has left a lasting impression not only on me, but decades of students who have graduated from Carney-Nadeau. To throw someone as amazing as Dale away due to financial reasons is a travesty. I used to be proud to say that I am a Carney-Nadeau alumni. Due to recent decisions made by the school board and administration what once was a legacy is now a disgrace. It is apparent that the current administration has no regard for the well-being of the students or the future of the community.

Every person involved in this decision should be ashamed for putting financial gain above quality education and the well-being of your students.

Lauren Quist Laubscher

Shawano, Wis.