I am very happy to be beginning my 11th year as a teacher in the Port Washington Public Schools. My family and I live in Port, and this year I am teaching in the very classroom that I was in when I was a Port student in 1972. I am looking forward to my son entering kindergarten in the Daly school next year.

I am proud to be able to live in Port and teach in the public school. As a community member I confront the same problems that all community members face. I, too, must pay the cost of daycare, the price of gas, and real estate taxes. As a teacher I am now starting the school year without a contract. It has been especially disheartening to read the unkind and negative letters about teachers that have appeared in the Port News. These letters have made me and other teachers feel undervalued and unappreciated.

Those who have written these letters do not understand that teachers just want a contract which is comparable to contracts in surrounding districts where people are in very similar circumstances. A contract simply shows that the community values its schools and the teachers who staff them. A contract is a sign of the appreciation and respect that Port's teachers deserve.

Port has been a beautiful community. That is why my family and I chose to live here. The schools reflect the values of the community. I hope the families of Port Washington will support its schools and its teachers.

Christine Cuomo Gaudiuso