To the editor:
Due to the downturn in the regional economy, property values and the ability to sell are suffering in the Goodrich area. How many houses have you driven by that have been for sale for years? Our community has a fairly high commuter population and the high gas prices are not helping the situation either. How can we reverse the property value situation or at least help prevent further decline?
We must make our community very desirable to live in. My family moved here from Ohio about four years ago and I chose Goodrich because the available ratings for the school district were good and the school system is small. Various education studies show that small school systems are more academically successful. We have been fairly happy with the Goodrich schools but the school system is not world class.
A world class school system would make this area very attractive. In the September 23, 2006 Economist there is an interesting article about the improved education system of the Canadian province of Alberta. In international testing, like the OECD’s 2003 PISA study, Alberta’s 15-year-olds scored among the top four of 40 countries in mathematics, reading and science, peers of Finland, Hong Kong and Japan. How does Goodrich score?
Now that Goodrich is searching for a new superintendent, we have an opportunity to obtain an individual experienced with, and a vision of, a world class level of public school system. What about hiring someone from outside our area? The recently retired schools chief of Edmonton, Alberta is Angus McBeath. He might help us find the right individual.
Barbara Armstrong
Atlas Township