Tuesday letters: Swansea High’s struggle very real

As a teacher at Swansea High School who runs a food pantry out of one of the portable classrooms along with student volunteers, I cannot thank you enough for your March 8 article (“A story of 2 schools”) describing the disparity between Swansea and River Bluff high schools.

As you know, the poverty here is shocking. I have had students living without food, electricity, water, medical care, transportation or even a home. There is not a day that goes by that I do not pray that my students will one day have the same opportunities as my grandchildren, who attend school in Lexington 1.

In my nine years here, I have watched helplessly as the poverty rate increases and more families struggle. The only way to end this suffering and bring them out of poverty is through education, and it is our duty to provide these students with the best educational opportunity possible to make it in today’s world. For them to have anything less than any other student in our county should be considered criminal.

I cannot thank you enough for bringing attention to our plight.

Gaston

This story was originally published March 23, 2015 at 2:57 PM.