A ‘Phantom’ fit for Broadway

A ‘Phantom’ fit for Broadway

With ticket in hand, I made my way from New Middletown to West Branch High School recently to see their production of “Phantom of the Opera.” I had seen this play in Toronto 18 years ago, and was curious as to how a high school could do it justice. What I saw was proof that when all involved give it all they have, wonderful things happen.

This production was under the direction of John Zamarelli. The students involved in this play must have the utmost admiration and respect for this man, as it showed in their production. From the sets, to the costumes and not to mention the performances, this had the makings of a Broadway production.

This play showed me that with the correct support and encouragement, the arts can be alive and well in any school system. Students have a right to and a need for, arts, just as much, or more, as we need sports programs in our schools.

To Mr. Zamarelli, I say bravo for your hard work and dedication. To Nick, Kaylee, Julia, Evan and Valerie, ( The Phantom, two Christines, Raoul and Carlotta respectively), I say thank you for sharing your talents with us; we are all richer for it. To all who were involved in making this production what it was, you nailed it.

School boards should work to have better balance between the arts and sports, so that our students can choose one or the other, or even both and strive to be well rounded individuals. Let’s fill our auditoriums like we fill our bleachers on game night.

Sue Ohlin, New Middletown

Over emphasizing the big test

Senate Bill 5 introduces year- ly mandatory teacher evaluations into Ohio. Most people would agree that the idea is a good one, but does the fine print in Senate Bill 5 cause more damage with its teacher evaluations than improvement?

SB 5 states that at least 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation score has to come from student performance on criteria determined by the Ohio Department of Education. What’s the easiest way for the state to determine whether students are meeting the selected criteria? Standardized tests. These tests are written directly into SB 5 as part of deciding whether a teacher will keep her job. If you’ve had to suffer through a standardized test, or had a teacher who based his teaching upon standardized tests, then you can imagine what will happen to our education system if every teacher’s job is based upon students’ test scores.

Adrian Paulino, Hubbard