Dear Editor,
While I'm glad that you chose to mention SAIL in the recent article on alternative schools, I feel that your description was a little misleading.

I am a SAIL student who can perform and has performed well in a traditional learning environment. However, I chose to attend SAIL because of its small size, which allows me to get to know my fellow students better than I ever could in a traditional learning environment, and the school enables students to get their individual concerns attended to quickly. Other reasons I chose to attend are that the instructors at SAIL make a point of caring about the welfare and success of each student; and individual expression of one's worldview and opinions is strongly encouraged.

SAIL is not a school for potential dropouts and failures, and it bothers me to see how often it's represented that way. The point of the school is that it encourages students to both achieve and be themselves, and one of the main lessons SAIL teaches its students is that academic achievement and expressing yourself don't cancel each other out.

Sincerely,
Adam J. Arthur, 11th grade SAIL student