To the editor:

My wife and I have raised four children in Westport. They came in pairs, almost exactly ten years apart. The two oldest, a girl and a boy, were 7 and 9 when my wife and I were married in 1982. In those days, the Westport schools were in turmoil. Politics and money created an atmosphere that made it very difficult to run a school system that served the children well. Our two oldest made it as far as the middle school, but things were so bad that we pulled them out and sent them to a private school in Providence.

Meanwhile, we had two little ones approaching school age. We had friends who were in the same boat with kids ready for school, but the prospect of sending them to the Westport schools was so disturbing that we actually started a parent cooperative school. We called it the Paul Cuffee School. We hired two full time teachers who taught K thru 8th grade. We built our own timber frame building for our school, and we tried to provide the kind of experience to our kids that the local schools were unable to provide.

In order for the Paul Cuffee School to be recognized as a legitimate school, we had to go through a review process with the Westport School system, led by its new superintendent, Margot Desjardins. Margot was very supportive of our little school. She helped us shape our curriculum and she made sure we were doing things the right way. Running a parent cooperative school is not easy. It is, in fact, exhausting, but we were successful for three years, and the kids who attended our little timber frame school have fond and indelible memories of a time and place where they were nurtured and supported by a broad extended family of parents, teachers and friends.

When the Paul Cuffee School closed its doors in 1991, some parents carried on with home schooling, others sent their kids off to public school. My wife and I ultimately entrusted our kids to the Westport Schools, which were undergoing what can best be described as a renaissance. Extra curricular programs were blossoming. The music program was becoming one of the best in the state. Walking the halls of the schools just felt different. Our two youngest started in the elementary school and ended up graduating from the high school. Both went on to college and I must say they are two of the best people I know. Both are confident, driven, and doing what makes them happy.

The renaissance of the Westport Schools that started in the late 80’s transformed a school system, and that transformation was principally achieved through the guidance and leadership of Margot Desjardins. My wife and I will always be grateful that our kids got to pass through the system during her tenure.

Today, the Westport Schools are struggling again. Margot Desjardins is running for School Committee. We’re voting for Margot. We know what she can do and we trust that she’ll work tirelessly to help the school committee steer the ship on a course that will use what resources are available to it to provide a quality education to Westport’s students. She’s been there, done that. Vote Margot.

Tim Gillespie

Westport