Last week I was reading the paper and was shocked to see a blatant attack against our school district, in specific, the educational quality present at our very own Mount Si High School. (Nov. 2 “Time for a change for school board” letter to the editor). After an amount of reflection, the following points were developed in response to this criticism.

In school we all learn that it is important to quote our sources for research papers and projects, given that many sources aren’t reputable. Why should it be any different in the newspaper? Here are some real facts about your local Valley high school, directly from the Mount Si High School Counseling Office.

The seniors of 2004 applied to 91 different colleges, in about 20 different states. In 2005, 274 people received their diplomas from Mount Si High school, 85 percent of those graduates went on to attend a four-year university, community college or technical school. There was $2,332,832 offered in scholarships to these students.

As of the fall of 2004, Mount Si had 64 students taking college classes via the Running Start program at various local community colleges. In 2004, 127 students took advanced placement tests (AP) in seven different subjects. Lastly, the Mount Si graduating class of 2005 boasted four commended National Merit students – a great honor to those students and our school.

So, those are the real, truthful, properly cited facts about our high school. The education at Mount Si is properly focused to prepare graduates for higher education and/or the American working world. Anyone who doesn’t spend six hours a day inside the school walls has no idea what the real high-school world and its education are like.

My fellow students and I believe in our high school and the work it does to prepare us for our futures.

This is “Wildcat Country” through and through.

Jessica Petitjean

Student, Mount Si High School

Snoqualmie