Dear Gov. Inslee: 'When I walk into school in the morning, I see my family'

Hello,

I am Tatiana Villegas, a student and  future graduate at Summit Sierra.

As we have all heard, there was a ruling that charter schools like mine were “unconstitutional.” Not only me, but thousands of students will be forced to leave the school of their choice.

Finding out about this school was an amazing day for me, since I was supposed to go to a huge public school that I knew I would have struggled in. Knowing that the school was small and was productive, I knew I could succeed in this school.

Once I heard out about the ruling, I was in shock -- I didn't believe it. I found out from a friend who attends Summit, and now he is one of my best friends. After the news I was sad. I had made so many new friends from all over Seattle, and some not even in Seattle. I would probably lose connection with most of the people just from distance.

Going to school after the news broke out, no one could believe it. We had a meeting, and as I was sitting with my peers we were not prepared to split up. It’s now been a couple of months after the ruling, and we have all gotten even closer. When I walk into the school in the morning, I don’t just see my classmates, I see my family. If one person is feeling sad, so many people will be there to comfort them, no matter what, because we are a family and we can’t leave one another behind.

It’s kind of funny. Going into this school I knew I was going to have a bright future academically, but I never thought I would socially. This school has helped me open up so much. It was so hard for me just to speak up in class when there was a question, or if I needed help; the people at this school have made me feel more comfortable so that I can speak up for myself. I've had a great experience so far in my first year of high school, and I would love to graduate from high school at Summit Sierra with the rest of my fellow Spartans. The judges, senators, legislators, and many other people are the key to solving this problem, so please don't lock me out of a school where I'm achieving social and academic success, and one based on a 100% graduation rate.