Business leaders: Support our schools

Much is made of ours being among the best small arts towns in America. In addition, we have a stable economy, a glorious landscape with wonderful recreational activities, access to quality health care and the list goes on. Forbes magazine recently identified Helena among the Top 10 Best Small Cities to Raise a Family.

Forbes only confirms what most of us who live here already know, but it’s always nice to be validated on such a large scale. Criteria used by Forbes included "solid average incomes, good educational prospects, low costs, short commute times and high rates of home ownership," which brings us to our point — Helena’s educational prospects.

Our public schools are doing a fine job of educating more than 8,000 children in our community. We believe the teachers and administrators throughout the school district strive to meet the diverse needs and learning styles of all our students. Public school employees work hard with families to counsel and guide the youth of our community. A little research reveals a host of ways the Helena Public Schools with the support of parents, business partners and the community stretch to meet the needs of our children in exciting and innovative ways.

As business folks interested in a vibrant community with a well-educated work force, we believe our Helena Public Schools (K-12) provide high quality instruction aligned with state content standards at all grade levels. We are pleased to know that the schools offer a diverse set of elective courses which appeal to the interests of the students and the arts and activities programs enhance the critical thinking and creativity of the students as they grow and learn.

By KATHY ERNST, HOWARD SKJERVEM, JOHN SOLHEIM and JIM STIPCICH

Full Story: http://helenair.com/news/opinion/article_3a732d12-028e-11e0-87b5-001cc4c03286.html