Important Notice, Response to Input and Update to the K-8 Proposal

Important Notice, Response to Input and Update to the K-8 Proposal from Superintendent Eric Ely

On behalf of the Schenectady City School District Board of Education and administration, thank you to the parents and community members for all of your  ideas, suggestions and input regarding the K-8 concept and the proposal to move Howe to Central Park. 

At this time, we are reconsidering the K-8 proposal that included sending Howe students to Central Park.  As a result of  feedback received from the community and at the direction of the board of education, I am exploring other K-8 options, designed to meet our goal of offering two K-8 options next year and to meet the needs of those who do desire a K-8 setting for their children. 

There are a number of reasons why we will continue to explore the option of offering two K-8 schools in 2009-2010:

The district’s goals and strategic plan include offering K-8 options as well as K-6 elementary schools

Zoller and Lincoln elementary schools will hold all of their sixth grade students in 2009-2010 and consequently won’t be feeding any sixth graders to Central Park and Oneida.

Since the sixth graders will remain in the elementary schools, the projected enrollment at Central Park over the next two years will be significantly lower than the building capacity.

Martin Luther King Magnet School is expanding to include K-8 in 2009-2010 and would be most effective to train K-8 staff together and open the two K-8 schools simultaneously.

The current district feeder school patterns of students coming from elementary schools into middle schools will not make adequate use of the available facilities. [/list]

The Most Promising Alternative

The Schenectady City School District will create a new K-8 magnet/school of choice or theme-based school at the Central Park location, targeting specific current school zones for prioritization in the lottery process with design to meet district goals. 

Under this plan: 

Central Park would open the 2009-2010 school year with:

2 sections of kindergarten
3 sections of first grade
2 sections of second grade
3 sections of third grade
2 sections of fourth grade
3 sections of fifth grade
2 sections of sixth grade

Class sizes for all grades would include approximately 22 students. This would depend on need and demand.

The plan includes alternating two and three sections of kindergarten each year to ensure that the school always has five full section of middle school students.

A theme will be developed for the school (or K-8 can be the theme). We will work on renewing our relationship with NASA, continue to be a NASA Explorer School and/or capitalize on a corporate relationship if possible.

I recommend targeting the student population Howe and Pleasant Valley (preference given to students in grades K-4); Woodlawn, Lincoln and Paige (preference given to students in grades 5-6) for priority in the initial lottery process.

By targeting Pleasant Valley, it’s possible that we can achieve the K-6 model there quicker than expected.

The Howe population should be targeted because of the expressed desire of some of the families to attend a K-8 school.

The Woodlawn, Lincoln and Paige schools should also be given priority because Central Park is the school to which they currently feed students.
The concerns and details that were outlined and developed throughout the conversations over the earlier proposal such as transportation, keeping students separated during the school day and the use of restrooms, will also continue to be addressed.

Early Childhood Education Center
Please note, this proposal does not include or allow the opportunity to offer an early childhood education center on the north end of the city.

This proposal will be carefully reviewed by the board of education.

I am very interested in your feedback, suggestions and questions regarding the alternative proposal. You can e-mail me directly at elye@schenectady.k12.ny.us, post a question or review additional FAQs about the proposal on the district's online discussion board.

Thank you for listening to the wide range of responses and creatively addressing the varied wishes and concerns expressed over the past three weeks. While this new proposal provides the K-8 school that the district and many parents are excited about, it does not avoid all of the concerns others expressed with the former proposal.

Given that this version of the proposal calls for such wide restructuring of the schools and the creation of a whole new school, it still seems best to table any drastic moves to the middle schools until the 2010-11 school year, at best. Doing so gives more time to involve all levels of leadership, staff, and community to ensure a more thoughtful and comprehensive proposal and possible implementation.

It seems that the Board and Superintendent are being very cognizant of the comments that students, staff, and parents have made about the k-8 proposal. Let me say that as a graduate of the Schenectady Schools I am very proud of them and believe that the k-8 proposal could be a wonderful thing for the district, if it is done correctly. At the current time it appears that the proposal is being rushed and would fall on its face simply to save a little money in training staff all at once.
Aside from this I have a concern with the theming of the school. When it was proposed, Superintendent Ely spoke of using the International aspect of Howe magnet to create an International Baccaleaureate program primary and middle years program school. As a graduate of the IB program in Schenectady I can attest to the values that exist in this program. With the new proposal it again seems that rushing to create k-8 schools has made this portion of the proposal take a back seat. If the school is going to completely change themes, why merge and close Howe? Why not create another k-8 magnet and keep Howe open.
My proposal, as an educator and proud Schenectady Alumnus is this, Take the NASA explorer program that exists at Central park and move it to the new k-8 Martin Luther King MST magnet school. this NASA explorer program would fit well with the science and technology component of this school. This can go on as planned in the 2009-2010 school year.
The district should then delay by as much as two years the conversion of Central Park into Schenectady's second k-8 school. This will allow the district to create the International Baccaleaureate school of Schenectady and build a vision for this program as it grows to k-12 in Schenectady. Students from the High school IB program could benefit immensely from this as well as the district having a showpiece that not many small urban districts can claim. For those who will claim that IB is only for smart or gifted students, take a look that their website. The IB primary and middle years programs are designed for all students. It is only the IB diploma program in high school that targets the "best of the best"
I write all of this because I am an educator who is concerned about the school district which I grew up in and am proud of it. I hope that the district will take to heart all of the concerns that are voiced here and that they will truly develop a vision for each magnet school, as that is the purpose of the magnet program, before they open it.

I think this is an excellent idea. As sad as it would be to have my kids leave Howe, I believe strongly in the K-8 model. I want my kids to be in as comfortable place as they can be going into 7th and 8th grade. I already went through the middle school years with my oldest (at CPMS) and so speaking from experience, I feel that switching schools, switching classes for the first time, and switching from childhood to adolescence is too many changes at the same time.

I am confident that this compromise will work. My kids have attended classes at Woodlawn, Paige, Lincoln and Howe. All of these schools have excellent communities in which we can build a foundation for our new Central Park.

As for a theme: Sociology/Psychology/Human Interaction. I might be biased as my degree is in Sociology but it seems that in this age of IM, Email, and texting our society is losing the art of human interaction. Pretty soon "R" is going to replace "are" in good old Websters. Since we are building a new community, a society/social theme might be a good place to start.

Does this mean the first proposal is no longer an option?

Also, in the new draft - where are the kids who don't get into the "New" K-8 school going when they hit 7th grade? Is Howe 7th graders feeding to MP? What about the Woodlawn, Lincoln and Paige kids who don't get lottery in - are they going where the original proposal suggested? If it is still being lottery based and King is still being made a K-8 school, then I think it is unfair that Howe is not. I am sad that my magnet lottery school is being treated differently then the other one just because unfortunately the school building wasn't large enough and couldn't accomodate adding on to it. This is not fair.

A Schenectady Lifer,

I think that this proposal is more fair then the last. Your child (at Howe) along with mine (who attends Woodlawn) and the kids that now go to Paige and Lincoln will all have a chance of going to this school, via the lottery. I am not sure what grade your child is in, but if they are in the lower grades your chance will be greater, as Howe and Pleasant Valley will be priority. I know you say that this isn't "fair", that is how the parents at Woodlawn, Paige and Lincoln felt when we were notified of this last week. This new proposal does however put most of us on more equil ground, of course it will not help everyone. My child from Woodlawn will be going into 4th grade, he will not be given priority for the new school, but there is still the chance. I do wish that priority was given equally in lower grades, although I do understand the need to free up space in Pleasant Valley, as they have over 500 kids in that school. I think the most diplomatic way to go about the lottery would be to give the kids in PV priority first and then equil priority among the other four schools mentioned. To answer your question, the rest of us that do not get picked in the lottery would then send our children to MPMS. However, there are three more proposals out there they we have not had the opportunity to read as of yet. Anyone of these could be picked in the end or maybe none. As the Board said last night, none of this was ever a done deal, they are still working it all out. They will be hold a public meeting, which you will be notified of, where everyone who chooses to be heard can be.

Why not create another k-8 magnet and keep Howe open.

...... Howe is going to stay open and in it's current state? or am I reading the original post wrong?

I am still in favor of the first proposal! That one at least offers a K-8 school AND room for a Pre-K program, which the Howe building would be at a great location for. My child went to a pre-k program and benefited greatly. I think if more parents of younger children knew the possibilities of the first proposal, there would be a whole new group of people in favor of proposal 1 and we would not just hear mostly of the negative attention that is going on. If the first proposal is put off for only one year to prep the building and teacher’s things could work out better. This way there would be no rush for the fall with construction and teachers could be picked and still be able to get the training with King’s teachers so no time is wasted.

With regards to a whole “new” k-8 school, what would the theme be? I feel in the world today it is important to know other languages and learning them in the early years is better than waiting until the middle school years, which is something that should even be considered for all the elementary schools since Schenectady is so diverse. Would another language still be offered at the new school? Also, would Howe still feed into MP?

I hope the board members except the FIRST proposal with possible one year delay and all moves forward. Please do not just take the negativity that people have toward the first proposal and let that ruin things for what could be a great move! I have trust in the board and superintendent as I do everyone else in the district since they know more about the “big picture” for the whole district than I do.

The first proposal has already created enough dissent where that one should ultimately be discarded.

The second proposal, while still flawed, at least opens communication.

I would rather see ALL the proposals and perhaps even the alternate of "staying the same" with just a few "tweaks" to increase the numbers @ Central Park to keep it the same.

The primary excuse I keep hearing about is "the Middle School thing just isn't working". Then why would you radically change the only one that is working? (Central Park)

Another reason I hear for the Middle Schools not working is because Special Needs Classes have to be included in the test scores. Aren't there Special Needs classes in all the schools? And at the same ratios? Why can they make it work in Elementary and not Middle? Is it because they plateau at a certain level ? and is it the same throughout the country? Is there a way to get test grades minus the scores of these classes ? I'm not being sarcastic about this, I really don't know the anwers to these questions and would appreciate clarification you could give me.

Thanks

Thank you for listening to our concerns. I am still alittle wary because my Sons future is in your hands. He is in sixth grade and the unknown scares me. I want my son to go to CP because it is his community middle school. Now in elementary school. When we walk to school, my neighbors know who he is and looks out for him and his two siblings. That's community. I went to Sch'dy Public Schools, I even walked to all my schools ( k-12) I know this proposal effects everyone. But I just need to know now!

KMCB wrote:

A Schenectady Lifer,

I think that this proposal is more fair then the last. Your child (at Howe) along with mine (who attends Woodlawn) and the kids that now go to Paige and Lincoln will all have a chance of going to this school, via the lottery. I am not sure what grade your child is in, but if they are in the lower grades your chance will be greater, as Howe and Pleasant Valley will be priority. I know you say that this isn't "fair", that is how the parents at Woodlawn, Paige and Lincoln felt when we were notified of this last week. This new proposal does however put most of us on more equil ground, of course it will not help everyone. My child from Woodlawn will be going into 4th grade, he will not be given priority for the new school, but there is still the chance. I do wish that priority was given equally in lower grades, although I do understand the need to free up space in Pleasant Valley, as they have over 500 kids in that school. I think the most diplomatic way to go about the lottery would be to give the kids in PV priority first and then equil priority among the other four schools mentioned. To answer your question, the rest of us that do not get picked in the lottery would then send our children to MPMS. However, there are three more proposals out there they we have not had the opportunity to read as of yet. Anyone of these could be picked in the end or maybe none. As the Board said last night, none of this was ever a done deal, they are still working it all out. They will be hold a public meeting, which you will be notified of, where everyone who chooses to be heard can be.

I am not saying that it is unfair that they are doing a lottery for this school - I am stating that it is unfair that the two lottery magnets are not being treated equally and that King Magnet and Howe Magnet should always be run the same. I wish we could have added on to our building then none of this would have been open for such a huge debate. I don't think it was fair that most of the parents of the other schools didn't get flyers right away but I do know that Woodlawn had a discussion meeting on January 27th by the assistant superintendent and if your school didn't communicate that he was coming to your PTO meeting that night I am sorry but the information was made public in January not just a week ago.

I'm not particularly thrilled about any changes taking place but I am enough of a realist to see that changes are comming whether I like ot or not. Having said that, this is probably a better concept that the first one in that it addresses the needs of more of the district - not just one school community.
But obviously this has been newly concieved and therefore the details have not been though through yet. There are so many valid questions above that still need answers. I still think the 09-10 school year is too early to make this happen well. Give it the extra year and let it happen with deliberate planning. This way opening day will be a truly successful one deserving of celebration.

[quote="A Schdy Lifer"]

KMCB wrote:

A Schenectady Lifer,

I don't think it was fair that most of the parents of the other schools didn't get flyers right away but I do know that Woodlawn had a discussion meeting on January 27th by the assistant superintendent and if your school didn't communicate that he was coming to your PTO meeting that night I am sorry but the information was made public in January not just a week ago.

A discussion meeting for Woodlawn 3 weeks prior of a recommendation when supposedly there where 5 years to prepare seems like an attempt to push a proposal through with as little time as possible for opposition.
Well, guess what, there was opposition and thankfully word is starting (just starting) to get around. And with more knowledge , there has been more opposition.
I'm not ready to say all work is done and things are still right, but I will give the Board credit for at least not calling this a 'done deal'.
The board actually stated there are about 5 proposals and possibly a sixth being keeping things as they are.
I would like to see all 5 proposals before commiting to any of them.

Hmmm was the Assistant Superintendent at Woodlawn on January 27th? Just curious, I don't ever recall hearing that. All I know is that our PTO sent a note home last tuesday and that was the first I heard of this, along with the rest of the school. I know someone said there was an article in the Gazette, but I don't receive the paper.

KMCB wrote:

Hmmm was the Assistant Superintendent at Woodlawn on January 27th? Just curious, I don't ever recall hearing that. All I know is that our PTO sent a note home last tuesday and that was the first I heard of this, along with the rest of the school. I know someone said there was an article in the Gazette, but I don't receive the paper.

To someone on the Woodlawn PTO Board could you please address if you had a meeting on this proposal, at your school with someone from the Superintdents office and how you went about informing your families of the meeting and was it a open meeting for your whole school or just the PTO Board? From postings it sounds like you did not have one and I believe that most people believed that meetings were held at all of the elementary and middle schools.

Howe PTO held a meeting the week before it's normally scheduled meeting because Mr. Ely requested this. He was scheduled to attend the Woodlawn's PTO meeting that night at 6 pm and ours at 6:30 and felt that due to there being alot of questions he sent the assistant superintendent in his place on the 27th and came to Howe for 6:30. He opened the meeting by telling us this statement. I don't know for sure if the asst. made it to Woodlawn since I was at the Howe meeting - I am just pointing out that most of the schools effected were the schools that his office tried to set up meetings right away with and even requested special meetings if he felt that the normal PTO meeting was too far into February.

Unfortunately, I also need to back up the 5 year thing since I was involved with the school then - it was discussed in detail then that this was where the superintendent wanted us to get to in terms of redistricting. I am sure that discussions were being made each year among the board and the superintendents office and unfortunately we as parents were busy with volunteering after work in our children's lives that we didn't attend these board meetings because we were busy with everyday life. I am just sad that we as a community of Schenectady are getting upset with our neighbors and other acquaintances because of this proposal. Parents are arguing at basketball games and I am sure it will also trickle into baseball now that registration has started for this sport. What a sad thing for our kids!

Are you parents freakin kidding me. It seems like all you guys want to do is argue. We need to come together stop the bickering.
Dr Roberts was at Woodlawn on the 27th. Woodlawn Families found out on that night. Some new at an earlier date because of word of mouth. We can't make the District get rid of the Middle Schools like they got rid of Mont Pleasant High School. And made are kids go to one HighvSchool. Magnet Schools are limited. Which is great if your own child goes there. I can go on and on but I have to take care of my children at this moment. I just don't understand this district can have 15 or so Elementary school and 1 High School.

[quote="Mary Kay Fenner"]

Quote :

To someone on the Woodlawn PTO Board could you please address if you had a meeting on this proposal, at your school with someone from the Superintdents office and how you went about informing your families of the meeting and was it a open meeting for your whole school or just the PTO Board? From postings it sounds like you did not have one and I believe that most people believed that meetings were held at all of the elementary and middle schools.

I'm not a Woodlawn PTO member but this is how it was explained to me by someone who is.
There was no scheduled January Meeting and the PTO was approached and asked to hold a meeting because Mr. Ely wanted to speak to the PTO.

At the time of the meetings, the PTO was unaware of the districts intentions.

A meeting was scheduled for Jan. 27th and a flyer was placed in in the school mailboxes either the Wed., or Thurs., prior to the meeting and probably made it to homes by Fri Jan. 23rd.

The PTO sent home a regular notice about an upcoming PTO Meeting and Mr. Ely would be a guest speaker.

So, while it was made available to the school parents, the purpose of his visit , urgency or effect on the district was not conveyed.

Dr. Roberts was sent as a representative to Mr. Ely that night because he said that Mr. Ely was overbooked. Mr. Ely was at Howe that night .

The point being, it doesn't matter if it was two weeks, three weeks , a month, for something that I keep being told was in the works for 5 years , why is this the first avenue of discussion and a recommendation was to be offered on Feb. 25th. (That has changed.)

Perhaps the reason tensions and emotions have run so high is that parents don't feel they have had an adequate time to express their opinions.

And while things have gotten heated and devisive at times, I don't get that same sense of irreparable harm or seperation. Sometimes families fight.

I see concerned, passionate parents that only want the best for their children and who can blame anyone for that?

[quote="A Schdy Lifer"]Unfortunately, I also need to back up the 5 year thing since I was involved with the school then - it was discussed in detail then that this was where the superintendent wanted us to get to in terms of redistricting. I am sure that discussions were being made each year among the board and the superintendents office and unfortunately we as parents were busy with volunteering after work in our children's lives that we didn't attend these board meetings because we were busy with everyday life. ]

Okay you can back up it was discussed 5 years ago, but without looking at the original proposal, this article from the Gazette from 2003 is all I have to go on. This is not the same as what is being proposed now and I get tired of hearing that this has been around forever.

District plans outreach effort
Schenectady superintendent says magnet school could be enlarged
Author(s): MARY MARTIALAY Gazette Reporter Date: July 17, 2003 Section: Schenectady
SCHENECTADY - The upcoming school year will see an unprecedented reach into the community to plan the future of the city district, said Superintendent John Falco.
"It's going to be big-time different," Falco said. "If we're going to make a difference in the life of a child, we're going to have to take a greater leadership role. And that's what we're going to do."
Falco said the push for community involvement will begin in September as the district develops its upcoming three- to five-year plan. The district concluded its most recent three-year plan, which focused on stabilizing finances and academic achievement, this spring.
"In the past, planning has involved a lot of people internally," Falco said. "And then we could say, 'OK, we're doing well,' but it was just us. We need to get the larger community involved."
Falco detailed his vision for the role of the district in a recent address to the Board of Education. The full text of the speech will soon be posted on the district Web site at www.schenectady.k12.ny.us.
Falco pointed to the student behavior that results in a double-digit suspension rate as one problem the district cannot solve on its own.
"Suspensions for insubordination have tripled since 1999. If we keep doing what we're doing, maybe we'll quadruple that, but it doesn't seem to solve the problem," Falco said. "I can come up with variations on suspension. But unless we get a larger community together, we're not going to solve the problem."
K-8 proposal
He also introduced the possibility of a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade magnet school in the address. He named the Yates Arts Magnet Elementary School as a likely candidate to expand because the program could be tied to the high school's fine arts program and additions could be built onto the existing elementary school.
Falco also said the Woodlawn Elementary School could support a K-8 program if a large housing development proposed for the neighborhood comes to fruition.
But the central theme in Falco's vision is that in the 150 years since the district was founded, the environment for education has changed vastly, and today, schools stand as the only remnant of the original institutions that raised and educated children.
"In 1854, there was a sense of community and government that promoted good citizenship," Falco said. "Children were part of the family, their religious denomination, the community/government and the school. Children were part of the whole."
Those ties have diminished, he said.
"The school is the only institution that has remained the same," Falco said. "Literally. It's the same chalkboard, it's the same chalk. We're the last place to have a crisis because there's no place else."
Falco said the schools may be the only institution in society left that can bring the community together to solve problems in raising and educating children.
The upcoming five-year plan will touch on "all aspects" of the district, such as the budget, technology, student achievement and attendance.
Falco declined to provide more details about the district's plans to involve more people in the planning process, but he said the district would have more announcements as the school year approaches.

[quote="Not a howe dad"]

Mary Kay Fenner wrote:

Quote :

To someone on the Woodlawn PTO Board could you please address if you had a meeting on this proposal, at your school with someone from the Superintdents office and how you went about informing your families of the meeting and was it a open meeting for your whole school or just the PTO Board? From postings it sounds like you did not have one and I believe that most people believed that meetings were held at all of the elementary and middle schools.

I'm not a Woodlawn PTO member but this is how it was explained to me by someone who is.
There was no scheduled January Meeting and the PTO was approached and asked to hold a meeting because Mr. Ely wanted to speak to the PTO.

At the time of the meetings, the PTO was unaware of the districts intentions.

A meeting was scheduled for Jan. 27th and a flyer was placed in in the school mailboxes either the Wed., or Thurs., prior to the meeting and probably made it to homes by Fri Jan. 23rd.

The PTO sent home a regular notice about an upcoming PTO Meeting and Mr. Ely would be a guest speaker.

So, while it was made available to the school parents, the purpose of his visit , urgency or effect on the district was not conveyed.

Dr. Roberts was sent as a representative to Mr. Ely that night because he said that Mr. Ely was overbooked. Mr. Ely was at Howe that night .

The point being, it doesn't matter if it was two weeks, three weeks , a month, for something that I keep being told was in the works for 5 years , why is this the first avenue of discussion and a recommendation was to be offered on Feb. 25th. (That has changed.)

Perhaps the reason tensions and emotions have run so high is that parents don't feel they have had an adequate time to express their opinions.

And while things have gotten heated and devisive at times, I don't get that same sense of irreparable harm or seperation. Sometimes families fight.

I see concerned, passionate parents that only want the best for their children and who can blame anyone for that?

Thank you for looking into whether or not Woodlawn had a meeting- If they had not that would have been unacceptable. In our letter home from the PTO it was stated as a meeting that could impact the coming school year - or something very close to that. I'm sorry if it was not conveyed in a similar way to the Woodlawn families. Hopefully this clears up one of the tiny issues going on.

I would personally like to thank the Board of Education members (Linda, Maxine and Gary) who came to the Tuesday night meeting. Not only was it beneficial for me as a parent to convey my concerns, but it was equally rewarding to hear the concerns of the Woodlawn and Paige parents as well.

The issues which have been continually berated on this forum were addressed such as the lack of time and the manner in which we as parents were informed of this proposal, children knowing of this proposal prior to parents knowing of it, the Gazette knowing of this proposal first, Woodlawn & Paige in the dark, all these issues were addressed and honestly, the Board members did apologize.

We talked, got mad, talked some more, got mad again, but in the end, we all thanked one another for coming and for the first time ever during this proposal, parents had an open forum to talk with the Board.

For this I am sincerely grateful. This is what open communication is. Not a computer screen, a human being. Hopefully, the Board is planning to have yet another session where we can speak again and this good faith effort proves to me that our concerns are being addressed.

Again, all proposals are still being considered and I hope everyone continues to write their letters, get involved and please try to see that one "change" can effect so many of our children.

Thanks again to the Board members!

Sincerely,
Joyce Wachala

I read thru it and i don't quite understand....Are they gonna make another magnet/theme school at CMPS and still keep howe they way it is? What happens regarding Howe? That is where my daughter is going next year and i want the picture to be clearer.

A: A proposal, as defined in Webster’s dictionary, is “an act of putting forward or stating something for consideration.” That is exactly what was presented several weeks ago. Subsequently, I conducted a community forum, several PTO meetings in different buildings, held many private conversations with interested people, and engaged in a number of on-line question and answer forums hosted on our district web site to share information and gather input. The process has been very fair in allowing those who are interested to provide input and suggestions in a calm, rational manner. Sometimes, the debate in these settings has been heated and emotional due to the fact that this proposal affects our children and is not some random meaningless event or idea.

I have been pleased at the passion generated for the benefit of the school district while distressed by the turmoil such a process causes. Some in our community have taken every opportunity to provide input as a carte blanche opening to take a shot at the people involved, the process, the organization and the ultimate goals of our school district.

A few have even taken a step over the line and made personal attacks on others, misled the public and misrepresented the facts to suit their own needs and desires. This is, however, a free society where people have the freedom to question and challenge everything. It is one demonstration of the greatness of our community and society. We welcome differing ideas and listen to each other with respect.

I for one appreciate the opportunity to listen and even the chance to openly disagree on a topic of such importance to our school district. I can only hope this passion extends beyond this one topic into the future as we try to become a highly successful school district and give all of our children the best chance for a thriving life in the twenty-first century.

I won’t apologize for any part of this discourse because as we grow as an organization and as a community, we all need to be heard and listened to with respect. We all need to be responsive to the needs of others. I need to make one clarification in response to one of the posts here. Not every option is still being considered. I am charged with the responsibility for making recommendations that benefit the district’s children. I will not recommend certain options because they are not educationally adequate or economically feasible.

In response to the administration, you are correct, there has been miscommunication and disruption concerning this proposal. When parents found out about this proposal from the Gazette, it did create confusion and much discontent. That's initially where the miscommunication began.

Also, I was the person who went to the Upper Union Street businesses and explained to each person who signed the petition about the proposal. I spent well over 3 hours reiterating the proposal to each business owner. I stated that the current Howe elementary school will be moved and either a pre-k or adult education center will enter the building. According to the Journal of Urban Economics, once a neighborhood school leaves an area, property values decrease by 9.9%. Also, Howe has been an elementary school in that area for close to 100 years, taking the elementary school away will definately have a negative affect on the area. I never mislead a business regarding the proposal and there were business owners who did decline to sign the petition.

Finally, when I spoke against this proposal initally, I was told time and time again that this was a "done deal" and was repeatedly asked why I was researching this proposal (such as which sex offenders lived near CP, why we are revisiting k-8 when we abandoned the program in the late 80's). Again, I can't fathom why people who are questioning this proposal are demonized. Please let us ask questions, let us speak openly. We have concerns, and this is a pretty big change for Howe and for the redistricting Woodlawn and Paige.

I do trust the BOE and the Superintendent, they have been in the educational field for decades. I only ask that in the future, please give parents a proposal, not an ultimatum.

Thank you,
Joyce Wachala

HoweMom2 wrote:

I read thru it and i don't quite understand....Are they gonna make another magnet/theme school at CMPS and still keep howe they way it is? What happens regarding Howe? That is where my daughter is going next year and i want the picture to be clearer.

A: At this point, the Howe proposal does not have the necessary support to be viable as an alternative for the district to expand the program to a K-8 setting. The revised proposal would leave Howe in its current location and its current K-6 form and create a K-8 at Central Park using a lottery program.