Reader supports Blandino
Editor:
I am a 1997 graduate of Fairborn High School and my family has been a part of Fairborn schools ever since it was Park Hills. My grandmother taught for Fairborn for over 31 years and is a well-respected teacher. I have been a substitute teacher for the district for several years in the past and I am currently the swim coach for the high school. I am so proud of Fairborn and even prouder of our school district. Recently, though I have been saddened by the events that have transpired concerning the Blandinos. I have known Mike Blandino since I was in high school. He was always a very respected teacher and coach. He spent hours after school coaching football and wrestling. I didn’t appreciate what that entailed until I became a coach.
In 2017 I was a substitute teacher for Fairborn and there were a few times I subbed for Blandino and I remember how his students always asked when he would be returning. Most students in classes I subbed for never asked about the teacher. His students seemed to truly be concerned about his welfare when he was not there. Blandino would always be there to help me if I had a question about another class I was subbing for. He was a great colleague to have for a new substitute.
The past two years I have been the high school swim coach. I have worked with Blandino when it came to the swimming pages for the yearbook. He has always been so professional.
Fairborn City Schools are lucky to have the Blandinos as part of their school. This couple represents all that is good about our school district. The tradition, the success, and the sheer pride the Blandinos show is beyond what most educators do. They are not racist and there is nothing they have said that was racist. They have been wrongfully targeted for something they did not do. I am so disheartened that the school district leadership is even giving this accusation any attention. The Blandinos want nothing more than to serve the school district and celebrate all the students.
Julia Rang
Fairborn
Member of class of 1977 supports Blandino
Editor:
I would like to lend my support for Michael and Barb Blandino. I personally have known both of them since the age of 16. We were school mates and members of the same church in Fairborn. That’s 45 years of friendship.
Our 1977 graduation class at Park Hills had several hundred classmates and both were well-liked and respected by our entire school.
I attended their wedding this past winter. I traveled from Reynoldsburg, Ohio back to Fairborn for the occasion with another classmate and I can say the travel conditions were less than perfect. That says a lot right there. Upon arrival I was so pleased to see so many former classmates in attendance from all over the country — it was like a mini class reunion. We all were so happy to see two wonderful people together again after all of those years.
Here’s what I can tell you about each of them: honest, intelligent, educated, kind, thoughtful, Christians, and good solid flag waving Americans. If you need help with something they are right there to lend a helping hand or a supportive word or a prayer. Barb and Mike are the first ones to organize a group for community outreach, donations for those in need, or for fun and enjoyment. They both believe exercise and fitness make a well-rounded person and have shown these qualities to their friends, family, and community their entire lives.
Their professional lives have been filled with contribution to our youths who will make make the biggest impact in the world today.
I can say unequivocally that I am proud to call both of them my friend and I respect their beliefs and ideals. It takes a very strong person to speak their mind in today’s environment and many people are out there to find something that isn’t there.
We can all look at our own lives and agree that we are human and no one is perfect.
In whatever decision that is made my hope is that you remember we are all Gods children and He is the only true judge.
Sandra Calhoun Cain
Reynoldsburg