Opinion

    This Pearl Harbor Day was both infamous and wonderful, since I lived through it. Along with a few other Plumas-ites, I’d attended a forestry meeting in Sacramento and was coming home, by myself, through the Canyon on a spectacular winter storm day in Northern California.
    It had already snowed large on Mt. Diablo. The Canyon was a mix of sun and layered clouds and wind and snowgoing on the road. I’d stopped at a familiar spot and was gathering a few river rocks for a home gardening project. The last rock got hefted into the trunk when it happened.

By Janet Wolcott

Director

Plumas Charter School

As the director of a California charter school, I would like to clarify some of the issues raised in Ms. Biggs’ Where I Stand in last week’s newspaper.

To begin with, my colleagues and I at Plumas Charter School are in complete agreement with her statement that there are “many reasons to begin high school in, and graduate from, a traditional brick-and-mortar school …” The majority of the teachers on the PCS staff have distinguished themselves as educators in the conventional school setting. We are well aware of the advantages and drawbacks of such schools. We also know from experience that while they serve many students well, they don’t meet the needs of all.

   Last July, voters in Plumas County went to the polls to approve Measure A and ensure that Plumas District Hospital and our emergency room remain open and ready to serve the medical needs of our community now and into the future.

     While we struggle to mitigate the impact of the unexpected tax increases, our community once again has some important decisions to make. There are those in the community who wish to rescind or modify Measure A.

     As the director of Upward Bound, a federal grant dedicated to providing fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance, I am amazed at how often students transfer to a charter school without knowing the full ramifications of that decision on their future. There are so many reasons to begin high school in, and graduate from, a traditional brick-and-mortar school for a student's future. I would like a moment to point them out.