We received the tip that there were a number of students failing at Marion High School, we did the responsible thing — we followed up with a story. That’s when we realized there were a number of factors related to students and academic performance.

We started asking questions of school districts in the county, which led to more questions and some interesting answers. Next week, we will share information about policies school districts have in place to encourage students to maintain passing grades and the consequences for unsatisfactory performance.

In the coming weeks, we plan to have information about important education issues including how school districts are coping with budget shortfalls.

Education is important in our communities. We have only 18 short years to mold our children into responsible adults. Part of that responsibility is learned in school by attending classes, completing assignments, and preparing for tests.

There is no doubt that most students are doing their best. There are successes at MHS and we’ve reported many of them in this newspaper.

We’ll continue to report the good news with the not-so-good news. This is what we do.

Like our students, parents, and educators have a responsibility, so does this newspaper.

— susan berg