Alta and Aurelia is here

No one wants to give up their school identity but with the financial crunch and the lack of kids, sharing with another district is becoming a necessity.

I have seen Alta and Aurelia going back and forth for a number of years and have written stories on people for and against the idea. There have been great arguments, especially by those people who have grown up looking at the other school as merely a rival. As someone who did not grown up here, I had a hard time seeing why that rivalry - which came to be on the football field and basketball court decades ago - could interfere with what is best academically for the kids.

It appears that the two districts are finally coming together and as a parent of Aurelia students, I am seeing a quite different picture than I did when talks were in the works several years ago. Support. Great support. That is what I am seeing in both communities already and the sharing hasn't even happened yet. The two schools will begin sharing sports as early as this summer.

Efforts are being made to bring the kids together, to get to know each other as team mates, not rivals, and friends, already.

For example, the Alta High School boys will be taking part in a basketball tournament this weekend; coaches there invited any of the Aurelia boys to be a part of the team. Two practices will be held this week with the Alta and Aurelia boys.

Another example, members of the Alta boys basketball team attended the state tournament on Monday and Aurelia boys were asked to travel with them; perhaps to give them a taste of what they could achieve together in the next years.

Alta Football Coach Kevin Hammer has met with the perspective Aurelia football players and has commented that there will be some get-togethers this summer for the boys to become acquainted; he even took the time to come to a few of the Aurelia boys basketball games during the season to watch some of the guys that will be playing on his Alta-Aurelia football team this fall. That's really commendable. I am sure other coaches will follow suit.

Sports has somehow become the greatest part of the school system, in many people's eyes. Together, many people are already seeing the great possibilities that will occur when the two schools come together on the fields and courts.

Academically, the students will also have great opportunities. Each school offers a few things the other does not. Bringing all that together will be great for the kids.

It is a tough decision for the school board members to first agree that something has to be done, tell the community people (and listen to their arguments), come up with plans and then carry out all that is required by the state. They should be commended for thinking ahead before it is too late and the state has to make a decision for them.

Galva-Holstein and Schaller-Crestland shared some sports this school year and beginning next year will share classes. These four districts will be able to watch each other grow and watch the students shine together in the classroom and wearing a uniform.

Supporting the kids in all they do is the most important thing parents and the community can offer. Put the differences aside.