Voices that Inspire

What inspires you from WFSU public media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. I'm Marie Claire Leemon. I'm a parent and advocate for public education. I have three children. They go to public schools here in Leon County. And we, as a family, felt very committed to our public schools, our neighborhood public schools. And we were noticing that sometimes some years they weren't getting everything they needed in order to serve all of the students that were in their classrooms. And we had time to devote to the issue. So in various ways we've decided, I'm a husband and I, but even my children, to some extent, to really be advocates for our schools. Our children all started at Hart's Field Elementary. And it's a school that has a very high percentage of students from low-income families. But we are situated in a neighborhood that is much more middle-class. Many of our families in our neighborhood have chosen other schools for their kids. Public education is really the bedrock of democracy and it's integral to the health of our society. And we feel that it should be at the heart of our community as well. Because it's so important. And one of the ways that we feel we can participate in that project of democracy and society and community is to be involved personally. And having our children in public schools means that we're involved personally. And for us public education is the pathway to equity. Public education, K-12 education or pre-K-12 education is where we have to strive for equity in order to give every child the opportunity to strive for the American dream. Because otherwise you don't have a level playing field after those years of education. I'm Marie Claire Lehman. I'm a parent of children in public school and a public school advocate. You're listening to voices that inspire.