By Staff
Little's only agenda is helping schools
To the editor:
In response to the letter of Aug. 21 ("Little distorts test scores") there are other opinions to be heard. To begin with, "distort" means "to give a false or misleading account of or misrepresent." This is certainly not what Mr. Little has done.
The fact that Southeast Elementary School scored lower than the state average in eight of nine areas is a matter of public record. Over the past eight years Mr. Little has answered many questions about test scores, the good and the bad. This is nothing different.
Mississippi Model of Accountability and Accreditation and No Child Left Behind require that all public school test scores be released. Also, these scores are available on the Internet. To believe that Mr. Little would knowingly humiliate Lauderdale County teachers or students for political advancement is absurd. He has no agenda other than helping all our schools be the best that is possible.
Being a teacher at Southeast Lauderdale High School for 32 years and the sister of David Little, I can truly testify to the character of this man. Our parents, Douglas and Tommie Lou Little, were lifelong educators. Our father was the superintendent of Lauderdale County Schools from 1972 until his retirement in 1984, and our mother taught mathematics at Southeast High School and later at Meridian Community College.
From our youth we had great role models of what it means to truly be a professional educator and to care for those you teach. A person has only to meet and talk with David Little for awhile to see and understand the love he has for all the children in our schools. Believing that he would purposefully or for the advancement of a political career hurt or humiliate the teachers and students he loves is a complete fallacy.
I ask the people of Lauderdale County to look at David Little's record and see the truth for themselves. The only logical conclusion one can reach is that Mr. Little has and always will do what is best for our children.
Celia A. Hall
Meridian
Stand beside Alabama
To the editor:
Hats off to our good neighbors in Alabama who are fighting to keep a Ten Commandments monument at a state building. These people should not stand alone, but be flooded with support. Hopefully, they've started something that will spread to our state.
Bruce McGee
Meridian