Tustin Board Shouldn’t Second-Guess Teachers

Re “Battle Over Reading Texts Erupts in Tustin” (March 15):

I live in the Tustin Unified School District and am a retired Tustin Unified classified employee. In 1999, I accepted a job at a small private school in south Orange County.

I was thrilled to find the Houghton Mifflin reading series on the classroom shelves. The books were identical to the series Tustin had recently discarded after only six years. The private school kept those books in use for the next two years.

Stanford 9 test scores for reading were in the 90th percentile, and I believe the Houghton Mifflin books were instrumental in achieving those scores. Tustin school board members need to focus on critical issues that are plaguing education across the state -- massive layoffs -- not second-guessing dedicated and experienced teachers when it comes to textbook adoption issues.

I trust Tustin teachers to make decisions regarding the education of our children.

Amy Mahar

Santa Ana