Letter: A-Tech’s tough rules benefit student learning

Tuesday, June 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Honesty, morality and religion were the foundations on which we based the parenting philosophy that guided our son into becoming the splendid young man he is today. Eldorado or any other public school in Clark County was simply out of the question if we had any hopes of maintaining those values. That is until we discovered Applied Technologies Academy. Under the guidence of Principal Michael Kinnaird, this school was like an oasis of education in a sea of ignorance.

While the geography books for ninth-grade readers are being rewritten to the fourth-grade level, A-Tech is pushing the ends of the envelope outward. It expects students to come to school to learn. Not hold hands. Not hug and kiss each other in the hallways. Principal Kinnaird's policies for this school are right on the mark. I have interviewed the students of A-Tech and I was pleased to find an atmosphere where students feel safe and comfortable and are free to focus their attentions on learning.

My youngest daughter's first experience at Eldorado some years ago was to watch a young man murder another in the cafeteria the opening day of school. My oldest son was the victim of gang violence at a football game. These incidents occur because, inch by inch, policies of discipline have been eroded.

In my Midwest high school there was a policy that if any two students were ever caught fighting they never went to high school in that county again. Guess what? There were no fights. No violence. No fear. We were able to focus on learning.

A-Tech is what any parent who cares about their child's future wants in a school. It's a very special school that can be a pattern and example to the other schools in Clark County. As near as I can tell it has been completely successful under Kinnaird's direction, and until that proves otherwise I will do whatever I can to support this fine educator in maintaining A-Tech in any manner he sees fit.

Edward J. Finley