Much to cheer about schools

You don’t have to look far to find youths in the Mat-Su Valley doing great things. You’ll find stories about some of our Valley kids and their accomplishments in today’s edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

We feature a lot of this sort of news every Tuesday on our Schools page. But these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to good news stories about our kids. Our schools are filled with good students who work hard and care about other people in their community, state and nation.

We know adults and coaches are due part of the credit for two Valley teams that won top honors in the state Science Bowl this weekend. Sure, students did the studying and sat for the contest. But where would any of us be without our parents and teachers challenging and encouraging us to try harder? Kudos go to these students, but also to their parents, teachers and all the adults in their lives who continue to cheer them toward their dreams.

We know there were adults, too, leading behind the scenes when the students at Machetanz Elementary organized a school-wide “Chores for a Child” effort to earn money for the 22nd annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. But we were thrilled to hear it was the students who suggested they should work to earn the money they would give to help fight leukemia.

If you are wondering how elementary school students know about leukemia, well, they have their friend and classmate Natalie Swanson to thank. She is a cancer survivor now, but when she was 8, she was diagnosed with leukemia and has lived through years of grueling medical treatment that saved her life.

Kids scooped poop, washed dishes, helped their families with vacuuming and performed other household chores to raise money to help other kids facing the same struggle their friend Natalie endured.

It is comforting to know that these selfless boys and girls are our future leaders. It’s reassuring to think that the work we are doing now as adults will be inherited by these students who already know it is better to give than to receive.

We were invited to Machetanz Elementary Friday to be part of the annual Read Across America event, which celebrates Dr. Seuss’ birthday each year by encouraging adults to read to kids. This is one of our favorite annual invitations. Reading out loud to kids is an easy, fun way to give back to our schools and students. And it’s a great way for adults to meet kids and teachers, and experience some of their excitement and joy for living and learning.

There’s much to cheer about the teachers, students and parents who make up our school system. We see value in recognizing that all three legs of this educational stool contribute to tbe successful education of our future leaders.

If you are fortunate enough to be invited to volunteer, read to, or show up as a speaker on career day, we urge you to say yes. It’s well worth our time to invest in our children’s education. We can afford to do no less.