I read the article about the Cornville Charter School in the Morning Sentinel on Sept. 6. A parent said, “It just sounds like a way better school than the public school. If a child is at a third-grade level, they do third-grade reading. They’re not held back with the other children. They’re always advancing forward.”

I have been in education for more than 40 years in the public schools of SAD 54, and I have always seen children reading below, at and above grade level in classrooms.

Help is there for the below-grade-level readers and the above-level readers are not held back in any way. I invite the parent to visit classrooms and see the reading levels within a classroom.

It seems strange to go for a school that sounds like it’s way better than the public schools. It could be way better, but that remains to be seen. Who knows?

I am not knocking down charter schools, but people should get the facts before criticizing public schools.

By the way, may I add that two children chosen to attend the Cornville Charter School will attend the Canaan Elementary School. One public school must be doing something right.

Marc Poulin

Skowhegan