Dear Editor,
I’m writing to encourage my fellow parents and all residents of Noblesville to become familiar with Miller YES. This is our local movement to support the upcoming school referendum.
There are many solid and convincing facts available from Noblesville Schools about the referendum. I won’t share those here. Instead, I’ll share my personal story to support the facts.
My own 14-year-old daughter has recently decided to pursue teaching. This inspiration comes to her after spending nine years in the Noblesville Schools system, at both Noble Crossing and Stony Creek elementaries, and now in her last year at Noblesville East Middle School. She’s had countless impactful and memorable teachers during this time, enough that she now realizes she wants to be like them. She wants to be one of them.
We discussed her goals not long ago, and I mentioned the money factor, despite my hesitance to do so. “You know that teachers don’t make a lot of money?”
I was proud of her response: “It’s okay. I’m frugal anyway.”
Someone told me the same thing when I was a teenager decades ago. The difference was I let that information about a teacher’s salary discourage me, and I picked a new path to communications for a living. After all these years, I’m still wanting to teach as a college professor later in my career.
It’s a shame that I felt the responsibility to let my daughter know she wouldn’t get rich as a teacher. Yet, I wanted her to be aware that teachers are underpaid as part of her decision making. Luckily, this hasn’t steered her off-course.
In about 10 years, Noblesville might have a former Honor Roll, advanced placement student applying to her alma mater to be a seventh-grade social studies teacher. Or she could apply to nearby Fishers or Carmel or Westfield, too, for that matter. And when she calls me to help her compare job offers, what advice will I give her? As any good parent, I will encourage her to pick the one that makes her feel most valued. After all, she’s worth it.
They are all worth it … our Noblesville teachers.
We need them to feel valued, appreciated, and fairly compensated. We can’t expect loyalty alone to keep them here in our district. Aren’t the kids worth it? Let’s not subject them to an exodus of their best teachers because our neighboring districts can do more for them.
Passage of the upcoming referendum will help to keep them here with fair pay increases – all the teachers who have impacted and inspired my own two children and yours. If you don’t currently have students in your household, you likely did at one point or you will someday or you have a relative or neighbor in the schools. Chances are, all of you have a connection. Maybe your friend at church is one of the teachers I’m praising.
In addition to staff compensation and the much talked about school safety measures, the referendum will also cover mental health services. As part of a family impacted by mental health challenges for many years, I can also attest to the importance of this type of support in the schools. If you could spend a day walking in the shoes of a spouse, parent, or child of someone deeply affected by depression you’d know exactly what I’m talking about.
Please come out on Nov. 6 to vote Miller YES.
Many thanks,
Michelle Payne
Noblesville parent
Current Miller Ambassador