To the editor:

I’ve been a paraeducator at Bainbridge High School for 11 years. I work with high-functioning special education students in general education classrooms, mixing with the larger student population.

The kids I work with are curious, brave, intelligent and have great senses of humor and I love working with them. They need extra help understanding the topics they study, and in reading, writing and completing assignments. Thanks to Bainbridge Island voters and taxpayers, I’ve been provided with a wonderful new tool called a Chromebook. It’s a rugged little laptop computer that I can carry from classroom to classroom. With my laptop I can instantly share my lecture notes with multiple students. I can monitor their progress on assignments, communicate with teachers and make sure everyone on the education team is aware of the homework they have to complete. I can report and solve problems and arrange for extra help when my students need it. I also function as an instant research assistant for teachers, using the internet to quickly answer questions that come up in class discussions while they continue to teach. When did the British abolish the slave trade? (1807) Where in the world would I be able to find a walrus? (In the arctic and subarctic oceans of the Northern Hemisphere).

I want to thank the voters of Bainbridge Island for their past support for our public school technology levies. Quick and easy access to technology allow me to enhance the learning of my students.

I urge you to vote to renew both levies on the ballot which are due back no later than Feb. 14. Thank you.

MIKE MCCLOUD

Bainbridge Island