I want to thank the janitors, cooks and the bus drivers who help make this a better school district.

I know that you rarely get acknowledged as you go about your daily routine. But thank you from a grateful father of an elementary school student.

In my writings, I have on occasion been critical of the Federal Way School District and its school board because I honestly believe we can be a better district. I can assure all of my comments came out of concern and never out of bitterness.

Dr. Martin Luther King once said: “There can be no deep disappointment without a deep sense of love.”

I decided to write about education because education is the key to the American Dream. There are no shortcuts to getting a good education. The formula is that you need teachers who care — and parents who do the hard work called love.

We live in a society where the rules keep changing and kids do not know what to do. We have a segment of parents who unfortunately think it is more important to be their kids’ friend than to be a parent who enforces the rules.

On occasion, it seems we are raising a generation of “me first” kids. The lessons we should be teaching is that we all need to sacrifice for the good of all. Sometimes saying no is borne out of love and concern.

I am thankful for the teachers who literally perform miracles that sometimes go unnoticed. God bless you.

We have volunteers who spend time in the schools and rarely get noticed or recognized by the district. But thank you for your service. The kids benefit by it, even when the district doesn’t acknowledge it.

It has not always been easy writing about how we can make the school district a better place. I could have stood on the sidelines and said nothing or done nothing, but I chose differently.

The reason is because I am a believer in God and these children. I am most proud of the fact that I advocated for the Martin Luther King Award, which is based on overcoming life’s challenges — and not based on race.

I’m also thankful for being the only parent to advocate for a “care team” approach to help the homeless kids who live in this district. Somebody had to say something, and I am grateful to give a voice to the voiceless.

I know being a parent is difficult because you want to protect your child from all the negative aspects of this culture. It seems on occasion that we are fighting a losing battle. But that is when you fight the hardest for your child, for that is when they need you the most.

Unfortunately, children can’t or won’t tell you that. But they need your time and discipline. Most of all, they need your love. Do not expect any thanks for 10 years, but rest assured, it will come.

I did not want to continue writing and not talk about Father’s Day. I will call my father and say thank you for showing me how to be a dad, and putting up with all my foolishness and loving me anyway.

I am a father of a little girl who, for various reasons, I will not be able to see. But she will read this. She has made me a better person and has shown me the true meaning of love. I want her to know that before she was born, I held her in my heart. After she was born, I had the honor of holding her in my arms, even to this day. This experience has been the greatest gift I have ever had, so thank you.

I want to thank all the fathers, foster dads and in particular the single fathers who sacrifice and love their children because they also believe there is a better way. I volunteer in this district, and sometimes you see that one kid who doesn’t have anyone to show them that love — and you just want to hug them and tell them it’s going to be OK, but you can’t.

If I could ask God for one request, it would be to take care of the kids. I then heard a whisper and he said, “That is why I sent you.”

No excuses.

Walter Backstrom is a Federal Way resident: wkbackstrom@aol.com.