Personal+Message+from+Ryan+Dunmire

== = = = The following letter was published in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review on 5/27/11. = = Issue of Class = = = = As a teacher, I know that each and every student has a human right to education. How is it that Gov. Tom Corbett's budget proposal cuts the very thing that will ultimately make or break a person's chances for success in his or her lifetime? = = There are no second chances with someone's education -- especially not in a child's younger years! Why risk someone's future? With a proposed $1.2 billion being cut from education funding, students in lower economic areas, similar to the one in which I teach, have little to no chance for success. = = Some may say vouchers are the solution -- that school choice will allow children to have a better education. Whom are they kidding? Vouchers are a way to privatize education and will benefit only the upper-middle class, who already can afford to send their children to private institutions. = = When a private school -- or any school, for that matter -- has an opportunity to choose its student population, do you really think it is going to choose economically disadvantaged children? Students could be declined based on behavior, grades, where they come from, their names or their skin color. Read the fine print! These schools do not have to follow the same guidelines as public schools do. = = School vouchers will be the demise of public schools and, ultimately, the demise of children's dreams in lower economic areas. = = We must stand together and stand tall and tell Corbett and his supporters that we are against his budget proposal and against Senate Bill 1! Our children's futures depend on it! = = **Ryan Dunmire** = = //West Homestead// = = //The writer is a teacher at Steel Valley High School.// = = Read more: [|Issue of class - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] [] =

= To Whom it May Concern: =

= = = My name is Ryan Dunmire and I am a Business Education Teacher at Steel Valley High School. I am 28 years old and have been teaching at Steel Valley High School since 2006. I am also a tax payer and registered voter in the Steel Valley community ! In addition, I am a Steel Valley Alumni (2001). I have both a personal and professional attachment to the Steel Valley School District. Steel Valley will be one of the districts hardest hit by Corbett’s proposals. =

= = = Ever since I was young, I have had a passion to teach. I fell into the footsteps of my father who is also a teacher within the Steel Valley School District. With small class sizes, and a unique and diverse community, I had learned very young that we all need to work together to achieve a common goal. Now more than ever before, we need to come together and achieve the goal of saving the Steel Valley School District. The lessons learned, the hands-on personal teaching ethic implemented, and importance of community involvement has been instilled in us all. =

= = = Our district is largely comprised of teachers that are just like myself. They have gone and graduated from Steel Valley High School and wanted to give back to the community that had given them so much! I personally have implemented over 75 community service projects within my five years at Steel Valley High School. These projects alone mobilized over 1,500 students! Not only do I teach four separate classes, I also sponsor numerous clubs, athletics, and volunteer at school events supporting our children. =

= = = Our community is full of families that have been here for generations. The hope of people like myself is to raise a family within the Steel Valley community so that they can have the same experiences that I had. The harsh reality of this situation is that we may not have a chance to send our children to this district. They will not be able to experience the caring staff, community, and education like we had hoped. =

= = = With over 2 billion dollars of funding being cut from the state budget, the Governor is literally crippling smaller districts like Steel Valley. It is my hope that collectively we can rally together and stand up to Governor Corbett’s proposal, telling him that we- teachers, students, and residents of the Steel Valley community, will not stand for him endangering the welfare of our children’s future. =

= Sincerely, =

= = = = = = = Ryan Dunmire =

= (412)401-7811  =

= A version of this letter was published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on 4/21/11. = = // Ryan Dunmire is a member of the T.E.A.C.H. Committee //  = = = =Personal Messages= =home=