Gustafson staff second to none

I can't help but feel this letter is long overdue. I want to share my pride in being a Batavia Public schools parent, and especially a member of the Alice Gustafson family. To see that Batavia teachers were the first to step up and take wage concessions to do whatever they could to help with our budget shortfall is nothing short of amazing. How many families in these economic times would be willing to turn down money and benefits to ensure that class sizes would stay as small as possible and teacher layoffs would be minimized? And the vote wasn't even close; the measure was passed with an overwhelming margin!

My family spent two years in another school district before moving to Batavia and at the time we thought it was perfectly fine. But after my children started Alice Gustafson almost five years ago, I realized what a really special place it is. Everyone, including teachers, paraprofessionals, office staff and custodians, work as a team and are untiring in their efforts to make the school a great place.

A recent example was our spring musical performed by third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students. There were two performances. Although none of my children were performing, we attended the Thursday night show and it was packed. The number of teachers (and even some regular substitutes) who had shown up for the show was phenomenal. This is a regular occurrence, not just a one-time event.

So many people are willing to complain, but I felt compelled to share how great our school community is, and how proud I am to be an Alice Gustafson parent. Thank you to our teachers that work so hard for our students and to our families that support our school!

Cathy Dremel

Batavia