The Common Council chambers were filled last night with anxious parents gathered to hear news of the proposed redistricting plan for Middletown elementary schools.
The Board voted to accept the plan from the ad hoc committee which worked to develop a plan which would shift 20% of students in elementary schools, creating a plan which would develop "neighborhood" schools, address the issue of racial balance, particularly in Mcdonough, and overcrowding at Moody.
Almost immediately the board notified the assembled parents and educators that a final vote on the plan would not happen until April 6 after the BOE, parents, teachers and administrators had time to digest and comment on the plan.
One important aspect of the proposed plan is that all current fourth grade students affected by the plan would have the opportunity to finish their elementary years in their current school if they chose to.
Several parents took the opportunity in public session to address their concerns. Parents from Farm Hill and Snow schools expressed concern that their children would be moved from those schools to Mcdonough, emphasizing the relationships they had formed at their current school. Others encouraged the board to make sure that the board provides all resources possible to make Mcdonough a school which parents would be happy to have their children attend. Despite the redistricting, Mcdonough occupies the oldest physical plant, and will remain with the highest percentage of students from families affected by financial hardship, despite huge education advances under principal Jon Romeo.
The BOE and several parents praised the ad hoc committee for the long hours needed to formulate the plan. Committee members Jen Alexander and Izzi Greenberg acknowledged the hard work and difficult decisions. Alexander said that it is no wonder that redistricting had not happened in twenty years, despite the obvious need to address inequities in schools. Greenberg noted that redistricting meant that justice would be done to all children who had to be bused away from neighborhood schools, and their own neighborhoods to have access to educational resources.
6 comments:
Informative report Ed, as usual. The redistricting proposal and boundary info was posted to the BOE website today: http://www.middletownschools.org.
Thank you to the out of balance ad hoc committee that is now responsible for recommending we send our children from MacDonough to Farm Hill. If we wanted them to attend Farm Hill, we would have moved to South Farms. They walk to school,Green St Arts Center and the Y now...it's great. MacDonough has done a great job in recent years and we're very happy with the principal and teachers. I don't see why they should be forced to leave their neighborhood school.
This idea of "neighborhood schools" is ridiculous. My kids do go to their neighborhood school and now they will have to travel farther away to MacDonough. I bought a house in a certain area for a reason and I think this recommendation is absurd. If this passes I can assure you that no one on the board will stay on the board. There are a lot of very unhappy people. In the meantime, I guess I will look to see if there are houses for sale in my current district. So thank you to the ever incompetent BOE and Ad Hoc Committee.
Anonymous 6:45 - If the fact that your child might have to go to a new school - one that you perceive as "low income", or some other nonsense term, is the only reason that you want to talk about unseating board members then your priorities are terribly skewed.The school board has run amuck for years making decisions virtually unchecked by our community. Yet the possibility that "your" child might be effected is finally enough for you to say "If this passes I can assure you that no one on the board will stay on the board." Where have you been for the last several years?
I know that as a parent it is our job to advocate for our children, but isn't it also our job to advocate for all children? This plan is better for all the children in Middletown. It addresses some injustices that have been occurring for far to long. So I would urge you to try and think outside of your 1 child to the community as a whole. Kids are resilient - changing schools won't hurt them long term.
Lastly you will get no arguments from me that the BOE is largely incompetent. However, I think that it is unfair to insult the Ad hoc committee and put them in the same grouping as the board. There job was difficult and they had to make some choices that are not popular. I commend them for having the insight to make these choices.
Just to clarify...in this proposal, no children that currently attend Macdonough will be attending Farm Hill. The only North End kids that will attend Farm Hill are students that are currently at Moody.
Please contact me if you want more information.
neat@neatmiddletown.org
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