A Letter Concerning Mrs. Kyllo

May 31, 2013

Lori Griffin

Dean of Transitional Education

Pierce College

Dear Ms. Griffin,

On behalf of all the ESL students of Pierce College Puyallup, we are saddened to hear that Mrs. Kyllo is going to be replaced. This is a community college and Mrs. Kyllo has built a community of learning unlike any place we’ve studied before. Mrs. Kyllo has many years of college, but far more important than any degree earned in a classroom are her nine years of dedicated service to the college and our immigrant community. More than anyone else she has been the one to teach us that we have a voice, that we can make difference in the world, and that we can be contributors within the society we now live. Most anyone with the correct training can teach ESL, but Pierce has always offered us instructors that go far beyond grammar, workbooks, and well-designed lesson plans. You can’t hire someone to be the glue for our little program. You can’t see the depth of ones commitment to the community through a job interview. You can’t quantitate a person’s ability to challenge others—all the while increasing standards—by reading a resume’. You can’t create the kind of synergistic chemistry that we see in our teachers here at Pierce Puyallup; Mrs. Kyllo is the catalyst of much of the daily success within our community. They say if something is working don’t fix it. But we say, if you find someone who is truly unique, adding beauty and strength to a community, they should be honored, treasured, and held in high esteem. What is best for the college and what is best for the students cannot be mutually exclusive. Keep Mrs. Kyllo as our teacher. She is beneficial to all.

We invite you to visit our classroom as soon as possible. We want to be heard as a group and have valid concerns regarding our education. If we don’t hear back from you in two school days we will invite Deb Gilchrist to hear us.

Respectfully and sincerely yours,

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