To the editor:

As the superintendent of schools, I have the responsibility

to make sure all students in our schools have the academic,

physical, social, and emotional supports necessary to be successful

in school. This applies to all students who enter our

doors, regardless of their skin color, economic status, physical

abilities, gender, or culture from which they come from.

This responsibility is not taken lightly. Every student matters

and deserves these supports, along with caring adults to help

guide them through their school journey.

Regardless of the rhetoric you see and hear in the media

and letters to the editor over the past year, we are not teaching

classes such as critical race theory or LGTBQ+. All of what

we teach — the curricula — is public information that can be

found on our website. This has been available for parents,

community members and staff to review for years.

What we have done over the past two years is provide

professional development sessions for our School Board and

staff on student mental health issues, cultural issues, gender

issues, disability issues, poverty issues and homelessness issues.

These sessions provide our staff and school board members

a lens to look through based on experiences of others,

which provide us with a better understanding of the students

and families we support in our communities.

While we can’t walk a mile in others’ shoes, we must understand

these dynamics of the students in our classrooms and

continue to grow as professionals so we can better serve our

students. All students matter.

Jeff Bertrang

New Ulm