ShawneeDispatch.com

To the editor:

Please save the Museum Connections Class as it is at Monticello Trails Middle School.

Every student and parent that I have talked with loved the Museum Connections Class and everyone LOVES the instructor, Keil Hileman! Keil is the 2004 Kansas Teacher of the Year and one of five 2004 National Teacher of the Year finalists.

Since Museum Connections is one of the most popular exploratory classes in the history of the De Soto School District why not expand it? Leave Mr. Hileman at Monticello Trail Middle School and ask him to train two other instructors to teach the same course at Mill Creek Middle School and Lexington Trails Middle School. It is one of the best history courses in the United States and one of the few true museums in a middle school, if not the only one.

My daughter Monet was lucky enough to have Mr. Hileman teach Museum Connections for all three years at MTMS and went to Washington, D.C., with him. My son Torin had Mr. Hileman last year (sixth grade) and is looking forward to having him again next semester. Both of my children and thousand of other students have learned so much in Mr. Hileman’s class!

My children have had many great teachers in the De Soto school system, and Mr. Hileman is one of the best. Why change a good thing?

Please help me get the message to the De Soto School District Board of Education to “Please expand Museum Connections rather than making it smaller.” Please email or call the De Soto School Board members: Tim Blankenship, tiblankenship@usd232.org, (913) 583-3058; Randy Johnson, rljohnson@usd232.org, (913) 585-1063; Dr. Jim Thomas, jthomas@usd232.org, (913) 422-1936; Janine Gracy, jgracy@usd232.org, (913) 579-6364; Bill Fletcher, bfletcher@usd232.org, (913) 583-1767; Larry Meyer, president, lmeyer@usd232.org, (913) 441-2272; Don Clark, vice president, dclark@usd232.org, (913) 583-3275.

Thank you.

Kevin Straub

Shawnee City Council member, Ward III