Mr. O'Dowd's recent letters concern me. I believe his children and mine have attended the same Glen Cove schools, so I must protest his implication that good literature is not being taught. A number of the titles he listed were indeed in my children's book bags. Romeo & Juliet and Poor Richard's Almanac were studied at Connolly, Black Beauty and When People Could Fly at Gribbin, and many other classic and new stories not on his list like Charlotte's Web, Sarah Plain & Tall, and the Laura Ingalls Books. Not to mention the inspiring biographies, interesting nonfiction books, and fun poetry that my kids now love thanks to exposure first at school.

His letter belittles the hard work of the classroom teachers, librarians, reading teachers and principals. These are literate, enthusiastic and creative people. Since Mr. O'Dowd is a site committee member, he should know firsthand just how dedicated they are. Through Parents as Reading Partners, the Community Readers, Family Literacy Nights, and the Reading Connection flyers, there is great effort to support good reading. How can he honestly say that "we have so precious little of it (choice and tolerance) in our public school system?" The biggest problem is that instead of having enough time to read and share good books, the teachers (especially in the 4th grade and 8th grade) are burdened with test prep for reading assessments that are mistakenly scheduled by the state for the end of the year rather than at the beginning when it would be more effective as a diagnostic tool.

If Mr. O'Dowd wants more, perhaps a constructive approach is to ask teachers for additional reading lists for his children, or to ask the board of ed for more funding so that school librarians could be a full-time position in each elementary school, rather than shared between two buildings. Then more books could be made available to more kids during the day (though we are lucky to have wonderful children's librarians at the Glen Cove Public Library available every day with suggestions for appropriate level reading.)

I also beg to differ with his comment that the staff at the Middle School is not supportive of parental participation. In my experience, individual teachers, the principal and assistant principals have been very approachable and responsive to reasonable requests. They are frequently available to speak to at PTA meetings. While I might not like every single book in the middle school library, I trust that an occasional Goosebumps will not keep students from moving on to reading better books as their tastes mature.

Responsibility does remain with parents as their children's first and most important teachers. But I am grateful to live in a community that has staffed its schools with outstanding teachers - some older and experienced, others young and newly hired. I trust them to open the doors of our children's minds to the future. Their professionalism should be respected and their efforts supported, not attacked.

Betty Cammisa