I was intrigued by the lead stories as I read the paper July 10. In particular, the placement decision of “Dog survives cliffhanger” ended up causing me the most interest. As I made my way through the rest of the paper, you can image my surprise that buried on the back page the story about Nicola Wethal receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. So, I am scratching my head wondering why a dog story trumps an article about a teacher earning a national award.

According to the article, there were only 103 recipients of this award nationwide. So let this sink in for just a moment. There are millions of teachers in the United States and only 103 were awarded this honor. Clearly, the odds are long that a teacher from little old Oak Harbor would be recognized for this highly prestigious national award. Yet, it only earned a spot on the last page of this fair paper.

In a time when public education is under fire from more groups than can be listed here, shouldn’t you lead with a positive education piece? Shouldn’t we be celebrating Ms. Wethal’s accomplishment by showing her the respect that is due with front page coverage? Isn’t the front page where you put your most important articles?

Two years ago I was able to see Ms. Wethal work her magic in a classroom. I hired her as a math teacher for the middle school summer school program. I spent a fair amount of time in her classroom watching her practice her craft. Her ability to develop relationships with students and get them to see math differently than they had before is second to none. She is part of what makes the Oak Harbor School District a great place to work and educate your kids! She has earned this award along with the right to be placed well ahead of a dog rescue story.

The next time the editors get together and decide where to run a positive piece on education, think about your placement. This article should have been the lead, not the closer.

Duane Sisto

Oak Harbor