Dear Editor:
There are many different things that define me as a person. I am a daughter, student, wife, mother, friend, and teacher. However, one of the very first things that defined me was that I was a student: a Blackhawk. I have lived in Sheridan my entire life. I am a proud 2001 graduate of Sheridan High School. There are a variety of reasons why Sheridan schools are such an important thing to me; one of the most important reasons is because without my time spent here as a Blackhawk, I would have never been able to achieve all that I have to be where I am and who I am today. I love where and who I am today. I love my town, our schools, and all that they have afforded me.
I am not the only Blackhawk in my family. My husband is a 1997 graduate of Sheridan High School, my mother was valedictorian of her class at Sheridan, and my grandfather was also a fellow Blackhawk. Red, white, and black also run deep on my husband’s side with both his parents and grandparents being graduates of SHS. Nothing makes me prouder than knowing that my husband and I are raising 4th generation Blackhawks. When I look around our small town, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of pride. Being born and raised in Sheridan, going here for school, and being a Blackhawk is a part of me and my identity. The opportunities provided to me and the individual attention that I received as a Blackhawk- as an athlete and as a student- were monumental in developing me for my future. And I grateful that I get to pay that forward each and every day as I provide those same opportunities and individualized attention to my SCS students and prepare them for the world.
Could I selfishly sit here and ask you to vote yes on the referendum running on May 2nd for Sheridan Community Schools? Yes. SCS is where I am currently employed and where I am proud to teach. It is also where I want to continue to teach for years to come. Should I ask you to vote yes on May 2nd? Maybe not, but I am. My children attend SCS and it is where I want them to graduate from. It is my alma mater. Sheridan Community Schools is the staple, the pinnacle force within our community and I know I am not alone when I say that I don’t know what my life would be like without red, black, and white and Friday Night lights. Please, if not for me, if not for you, but for our community’s sake, keep Sheridan, Sheridan. Let our schools continue to provide and challenge our students and remain competitive. Our students are the future, our teachers their leaders, and our school system the pathway. I know where I will be on May 2nd and I will be voting yes for something much larger and more important than myself; I hope that you will do the same, please. Go Blackhawks!
Margaret McKinney