Letter to the Editor from South Shelby Student, Hailey Douglass

Dear Editor,

Hello. My name is Hailey Douglass from Shelbina. I am 16 years old and going into my junior year of high school at South Shelby. I currently serve as the South Shelby FFA Corresponding Secretary, FCCLA Vice President of Community Service, and I served as the class treasurer last year. I also have the honor of being a varsity cheerleader for the South Shelby Football team this coming year.

I want to start off by saying that when I walk through the halls of South Shelby I have never thought of my peers as being “Clarence vs Shelbina”. Some of you may think that as Shelbina kids we think more highly of ourselves than a kid that comes from Clarence. I’m here to tell you, that is simply not the case. I think of ALL OF US as South Shelby Cardinals that just happened to live in different towns. I remember joining the Clarence kids in 6th grade & I will never forget the bond that was immediately formed between the class of 2020. Please don’t take that bond away from us. I love all of my Clarence friends as much as I love my Shelbina friends. I want to be able to share the experiences of graduating & going our own ways in 2 years.

As I drive through the town of Clarence and the town of Shelbina I cannot help but get emotional. I know that things are never going to be the same, and all I can do is hope and pray that we can find a way to repair the damage, and move forward, instead of looking back at something that happened 50+ years ago. “United we stand, divided we fall”. The adults in this community need to put aside their differences, unite, and make South Shelby even better than it was before.

South Shelby is an amazing school with an amazing staff and amazing students. I LOVE South Shelby. This year I had the opportunity to mentor one of the kindergarten classes in Shelbina. It was this year that I realized how much teachers do for their students. Especially South Shelby students. When I walk through the halls of South Shelby, I feel like I am at home. I know that if I was going through something tough, my teachers and administrators would be right there to help. They are always helping. That’s the best thing about going to a small school. You always know you have a shoulder to cry on or to celebrate with. South Shelby students are familiar with the their teachers & administrators. Please, don’t take that away from students who truly feel that South Shelby is their only home, and only hope.

As South Shelby students we don’t realize how lucky we are to get as much one on one time as we do. Like the wise words of Deacon Windsor, “It’s harder to get an F in this school than it is to get a C”. At South Shelby teachers aren’t going to let you fail. They will push you until you are where you need to be. Angie Resa will let you come in at 7:30 in the morning, just to make sure you understand the lesson we learned the previous day, even if you aren’t in her class. It’s the same for all teachers at South, they want us to succeed. I truly feel that when I go to college in 2 years, I am going to be well prepared to succeed greatly. I can thank my SS teachers for that. Now I’m not saying that Macon High School doesn’t offer that. I know that they have amazing teachers as well that want you to succeed. I’m just telling you why I love South Shelby, and why others do too.

Redistricting WILL hurt South Shelby. 250 of our amazing students will be ripped from us. We are already a small school. This WILL ruin our district. Losing students, means losing money, which could potentially mean losing organizations, program offerings, sports, fellow officers, scholarships, staff and teachers. I could go on.

The students of South Shelby are depending on you to save our district. I so strongly pray that you will realize how detrimental this will be to our district and students. I urge you to VOTE NO on August 7th. CARDINAL PRIDE & God Bless.

Hailey Douglass