Fighting for the Hornets 03/12/2010

This week has been a whirlwind.  On Monday, it was announced that my 7 and 4 year old’s school is on the chopping block.  (Yesterday at the PTO meeting it was said that the superintendent said that they were going to explore other options).  It was announced about two weeks ago that the program that my 4 year old attends is also on the chopping block.  I’m really frustrated with the school corporation.  We moved from the neighborhood that their school is located in the summer of 2008, and during the 7 years that we owned our house there we had three different elementary school districts.  Now the board wants to close the school they just invested to reopen 5 years ago, and turn it back into an alternative high school, causing the 4th school change in less then 10 years for that area.  I understand the frustration.  In itself, the school is a very small school, and I can see where the board is coming from.  We need to save money.  But I have five major issues with the changes as proposed:

1. The school corporation is wanting to cut special education, with some of the deepest cuts to special needs preschool.  What is wrong with this picture?  Right now, the only therapy Erin receives is what she gets through the school corporation.  She has imporved, although not nearly as much as her older brother did when he was in the program (I’m saving this for another post).  Cutting the preschool means that these kids will be less likely to be mainstreamed, resulting in more kids in special education classes and resulting in the need for more resources.  The key to treatment of these disorders (apraxia, autism, speech delays, developmental delays) is early detection and early treatment, and the corporation is taking away that early treatment option.
2. The South Bend Community School Corporation is a troubled corporation.  It has three high schools and one elementary school that will be taken over by the state within two years if test scores don’t improve.  The majority of the remaining elementary schools and a number of the middle schools are set for take over within the next 3-4 years.  There are three exceptions to this, Kennedy (the gifted magnet), Tarkington and Hamilton (two of the three traditional schools which require increased parental involement).  Hamilton is only in its second year of being a Traditional School, and has had the test scores to meet AYP prior to being considered a Traditional School, meaning we’ve been doing something right in a corporation that is consently doing things wrong.  This is why I chose to send my son to Hamilton, even though we don’t live in the neighborhood anymore (Erin didn’t have a choice since that’s where the preschool was located).  Closing a school that is actually a success in a corporation that is full of troubled schoools seems kind of strange, unless they are trying to raise the test scores in another school without actually teaching the kids that are already there.
3. The whole point of a Traditional school is that parents have the choice to send their children to a school with smaller class sizes (which is not totally the case) and a smaller school.  The parents are required to be involved for a minimum number of volunteer hours per year, and if the family does not meet these expectations they will not have a place in the school the next year.  You can’t just choose a school and force the parents to commit to these requirements, especially a school that is not known for extra parental involvement (and a 30 point difference in test scores).  The traditional school format is a choice, not something the school borad can arbiturarly force on a school, or its not a traditional school anymore (at least by the rules that the school borad invented in the early 2000s).
4. As I pointed out above, 4 school districts in 9 years.  That destroys property values, especially in one of the few desirable areas of SB, based on actually having a successful school, not the utter failure that the majority of the schools are considered.
5. Okay, we’ve been told that they are leaving Hamilton alone, for now.  Of course the vote isn’t until the end of the month, so things might change.  But what bothers me is the “for now” or the “next year” I keep seeing tacked onto people’s statements.  This doesn’t change the fact that SBCSC just spent $20+ million dollars renevating a building that will only be half full.  I can’t help but think this is going to keep getting revisited in future years, making me wonder if I should continue sending my children to Hamilton.  But why pick on a small successful school.  Hay is extremely overcrowded.  Why not move some of those students and end up with on 300 student school and two 400 student schools rather then two overcrowded schools?  Just a thought.

I’m very thankful to the parents who stood up for what they believe and made their voices heard.  Great job Hornets!  I will continue to fight for an excellent school and family regardless of where my children end up, but I can’t say for sure that we’re going to continue to be a Hamilton family.  I also have to look out for the best interest of my children, and the shrinking special education budget with a child that requires more speech therapy not less makes me worry about her future.  Also having two children that do not respond to change well may require me to make the change before the school board makes the changes for me.  I am proud to be a Hornet, and will stand by regardless of where the future takes my family.

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