Smart solutions

The teacher and administration at Pittsburgh Schaeffer K-8 in Crafton Heights, profiled in a recent story in the PG ("Donated Beds Help Students Get the Rest They Need," May 26), demonstrate why teachers are so important and how enormously complicated questions about educational achievement gaps in low-income children often boil down to very simple solutions.

The problem -- children unable to pay attention in school simply because they are exhausted by lack of sleep -- was solved not by market solutions or a new program. The solution came from caring teachers and a principal who actually listened to children and families, and responded by getting the children and families what they needed, in this case new beds.Teachers in public schools are so often vilified in the media, and yet it is teachers who know that a child's home situation often has the greatest impact on what he or she is able to achieve in the classroom. Decent nutrition, a good night's rest, good health and access to books and computers all go a long way to helping children obtain educational success.We need a program like "Storehouse for Teachers" in every Pittsburgh school to give more teachers the ability to identify and meet the needs of their students and their students' families.SUSAN ROTHENBERG
Squirrel Hill