I would like to compliment and thank your staff writer, Kirk Lang, for his well-written article "Paraprofessionals Make Plea to Board." In his article, Kirk truthfully explained to the Fairfield community how much the paraprofessionals care for and support all the students of Fairfield. He also did a magnificent job of explaining what the paraprofessionals were trying to accomplish at the meeting on Wednesday night, and how they hope the Board of Education will understand and act on their plea for a more equitable wage, and the additional training needed to continue to support the teachers and all the students in Fairfield, whether they are learning disabled or not.

I would also like to thank all who spoke on behalf of the paraprofessionals, in particular, special thanks to Marilyn Feranec, Alexa Mullady, and our president, Julie Cinnamon.

Anna MassarellaFairfield

I am a paraprofessional at Riverfield School. Over the last four years I have experienced firsthand the integral role that the paraprofessional plays in our public schools, that of a bridge between teacher and student. When a child needs extra help, guidance or just a friendly face, it is usually a paraprofessional that fills that need. Without us, the programs and the curriculum that our school system has carefully crafted would sputter and fail as our teachers would be overwhelmed with additional time demands that go beyond what our dwindling volunteer base can meet.

As with everything in our economy, the most ready valuation of a person's contribution to an enterprise is measured by the wages he commands. Unskilled labor that places no emphasis on quality, therefore, warrants little pay. Fairfield's deplorable wage structure for paraprofessionals reflects the minimal value our school system places on the role of paraprofessionals in the schools. It essentially is a message to the work force that virtually anyone can perform an adequate job as a paraprofessional and that any current paraprofessional's skills can be easily and cheaply replaced.

Four years of seeing the difference experienced and dedicated paraprofessionals can make has taught me differently. The unique compassion and dedication that our paraprofessionals show our children every day explodes that myth.

The clear impact of the school system's decision to continue to maintain artificially low and demeaning wage levels for paraprofessionals is absolutely the worst possible one that can be sent to the existing paraprofessionals, parents, teachers and our children. I ask our community to join the paraprofessionals' call for a living wage for these vital role players in our children's future. Refusing to address this need would surely and profoundly diminish the value of a public education in our town for years to come.

Megan CurleyFairfield

I've been a Fairfield resident for 25 years. I work as a paraprofessional in Mill Hill School. This is my 12th year in the school system. Over the years, my job entails working in "K – 5" support in classrooms, resource room, special needs children one on one with bathroom needs and lifting. I also work summer school with special needs children. We have 200 paras working in the town of Fairfield. Granted, they all don't live here in Fairfield but certainly are qualified and meet the needs of our children. We all took the test for "No Child Left Behind" and were promised raises that never happened.

We are very concerned about the ongoing failure to invest in paraprofessionals working in our district. The reality is that lack of professional development, too few training opportunities and the lowest paid of all the surrounding town districts is driving away the dedicated paras in our schools.

Paraprofessionals working in the surrounding towns, their salary starts at $19,900, whereas Fairfield pays $16,500.

Nora ZillioxFairfield