(Editor's note: the following in in response to John Rankin's letter titled, "Writer says Highline Schools can't even teach in one language")

Mr. Rankin, I suggest you went to school when the Highline School District was largely white and well-to-do. Sorry to invade your comfy all-white confines of Normandy Park, but this district has changed, as has the world.

My three kids attend different schools in the district and each enjoys a unique advantage that Highline has to offer. At Pacific Middle School, my kids have had access to the finest music program of any middle school in South King County.

My son's high school, Aviation, is the envy of the state. My daughter's high school, Mount Rainier, has one of the least grade-inflated scores, as noted by the UW, and has full music, International Baccalaureate and sports programs. I don't see the dilution of education that you are decrying.

My husband and I looked at several districts before we moved where we did, and considered the white, affluent Columbine school that hosted one of the most violent incidents in our country's history, then checked into absenteeism and violence rates before we deliberately chose Highline School District.

We also wanted a realistic ethnic mix, because that's what we all look like. We no longer resemble 1950 Highline School District, but neither does the rest of the world.

And you can bet I put my kids in Zero Hour Spanish in the 8th grade. You have volunteers or paid instruction for Mandarin in your Normandy Park schools, but we insisted that our kids learn the language that is predominant on three continents.

I'm not sure that the Mandarins will be our future masters, as you suggest, and am, instead, preparing my children for the leadership position you easily assign to others.

In that case, the Highline School District curriculum fills the bill.

Mysty Beal
Des Moines