Open Letter to Stafford County School Board

Stafford County Public Schools
Members of the Stafford County School Board and Superintendent
Dear David Sawyer Ed.D.,

My name is Caroline Emerson and I graduated from the Commonwealth Governor’s School (and Brooke Point High School) in 2002. After CGS, I graduated with honors from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture in 2006. I can not state to you in words the value of my Commonwealth Governor’s School education. Because I was a member of the first class to graduate after all four years at CGS, I think that my observations are important. CGS then was not the formidable institution that it is now, and there were serious problems with the technology, the curriculum, and the transportation coordination. Despite these setbacks, the time I spent at CGS was a completely unique leaning opportunity. I know this because while at UVa, I compared high school experiences with a variety of friends, several of whom attended Governors’ Schools in Virginia and other states. Other programs provide in-depth educational opportunities, but none provided the developing opportunity of being part of a regional community of learners. While at UVa, my friends were the smartest and brightest students in my classes, many of whom attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax. It is my connections with UVa and intelligent people that have allowed me to thrive in a difficult economy. It was my CGS experience that allowed me to matriculate into the University of Virginia, and helped me to be successful there.

In addition to CGS, I invested myself heavily in extracurricular activities at Brooke Point. I lettered in Marching Band and Winter Track. I played soccer three years and performed a starring role in the school play, “Royal Gambit” my senior year. I was elected President of the French Club, and Vice-President of the National Honor Society. I routinely tutored children at Stafford Middle and Elementary Schools. I worked weekends in Fredericksburg at a frame shop, and during my senior year, Summit Presbyterian Church employed me as their interim pianist. I regularly played the piano at my own church, Regester Chapel United Methodist Church, and lead the youth group. During my high school career, I was awarded a countless number of awards for scholarship, integrity, academics, athletics, honor, ethics, outstanding contributions, dedication, etc. I would never have achieved so much without CGS to encourage me and push me along. The friends I made at CGS helped me to challenge myself, and the dedication of my teachers set a daily example of what one can achieve through hard work.

At Brooke Point, I was treated as an outcast. In a memorable example, a fellow runner on the winter track team wrote an accusative and downright false editorial in the Brooke Point newspaper. A member of my 4x4 relay team, she insisted that CGS students were not really Brooke Point students and should not be treated as such. Her jealous jabs over GPA totals and her failure to get facts about time investments were difficult to handle for my fellow students and myself. She represented the voice of the student body, a group that misunderstood and was unwilling to accept the opportunities inherent in a CGS education. It is my hope that now, seven years later, students and their parents, and most of all the School Board, would be able to have a broader understanding of the depth and value of the Commonwealth Governor’s School and Stafford County’s participation therein.

You were not involved with the Stafford County School Board in 1998-2002, my tenure at CGS, and therefore you are not apprised of the challenges we faced as a fledgling community of learners. Please believe me when I tell you that those years at CGS were more academically rigorous than any of my four years at the University of Virginia (which was rated the number two public university in America, 2009 US N&WR.) Why do you think we so assiduously weathered the challenges of the early CGS years? Mr. Sawyer, I did it because I wanted to help Stafford County grow into a more sophisticated learning environment for my younger brother and sister. And now my siblings; set to graduate CGS in 2009 and 2011; are enjoying the benefits of our hard work, an established, grounded intellectual community. I am so pleased and proud of my siblings and the education they are able to get from Stafford County Public Schools.

When I read your letter of February 9, 2009, I was shocked for many reasons. First, you underestimate the importance of CGS; I can only hope that my letter and other letters from my classmates will help you to understand our CGS experience. Second, I was upset at your vague strategies for budget solutions. As an architect, Mr. Sawyer, I am fully aware of the challenges of scope and budget, but I also realize how important it is to understand the overall design before endeavoring to reach a budget consensus via saving dollars. Your letter did not put forth a satisfactory explanation of the details of your specific plan. You have upset countless number of current and former Governor’s School students, and you provide no decisive plan of action for how you will alter Stafford’s financial participation in the Governor’s School without sacrificing the students. This is quite dismaying, and you owe an explanation to the students and families of the greater Stafford region. Your words undercut the value of education of high school students not just in Stafford County, but on a regional level. This is disappointing to those of us who worked so hard, and want to see Stafford County continue to be a place of higher academic potential.

Sincerely,
Caroline C. Emerson
caroline.emerson@gmail.com