Tuesday, November 25, 2008

S.O.S.

Save our School

When your school program is dispersed, destroyed, and eliminated - to be replaced in the very same building by a new population, it is tough, to say the least.

One must assume the new population is more worthy of the space than your original program and current students and families. It is important to note here the distinction between building, program, and population.

Think Value.

Check the links above. If this does not make sense to you, or if you wish to speak up for my school, Arbor Heights Elementary (what it brings to our city and world), please let me know, by leaving a comment here, or sending me an email.

technorati tag:

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks, Mark ~
Arbor Heights is NOT just a place where kids are dropped off in the morning to spend the day, get homework and go home. This school is a community. We see one another in the stores, parks, restaurants, summer events, libraries and beaches. Some alumni send there own kids to Arbor Heights because it's a great school with many opportunities. We have friends. This makes us all feel safe. We need to be together, this community of Arbor Heights Elementary School. We all need to grow and learn together.
Barbara Bailey

cficarra said...

We have a daughter in kindergarten at Arbor Heights, so of course all of this has my wife and I feeling angry, concerned, betrayed and abandoned. Aside from the actual closing of the school itself, the way this whole business is being handled is plain ugly. Maybe I'm sentimental, but could the announcement been held off until after the holidays? Or at least the holiday that's just two days from now? Also, my wife pointed out that there was nothing kind or empathetic in the announcement: nothing like, "We understand that community, and continuity, are important to your child'''s school experience, and be assured we will make every effort to . . ." Nope, there was nothing like that. We weren't reassigned. We weren't relocated. We were "terminated." Nice word. Maybe we can all teach our children to spell it tomorrow. /cf

cficarra said...

My husband Carmen said much of what I feel. It ''is one thing to have your school closed and a totally different feeling to be kick out so another school with "better" kids can move in. Don't get me wrong, I love the Pathfinder program and wanted to attend but instead choose the school closest to us and with the families we have grown to love and trust. I am frustrated that the district is not assigning our children to a specific school so we could at least try to stay together with our grades. No, they suggest we scatter ourselves and our community throughout the sw end schools. I am feeling really disrespected and that our children our not valued.
Julie Forkasdi

Angie said...

After having sat through 4+ hours of my 1st School Board Meeting,

What blows me away is that the district purports to be committed to creating meaningful connections between families and schools (via the Southeast Flight School Initiative—don’t get me wrong, my heart sings when I see myself and others pushed to the boundaries of their cultural comfort—only then can growth truly take place), yet they recommend that Arbor Heights students/staff be moved. Our school exemplifies what Flight is striving to create.

Community.

Anonymous said...

Arbor Heights Elementary School is the center of the entire Arbor Heights community. For those neighbors who don't have children, or whose children are no longer elementary age or not yet elementary age, the school brings all of us together. We have the community that much of Seattle is striving to rebuild or create. AT tonight's meeting Maria Goodloe-Johnson said one of the main reasons for our budget crisis was the decision to allow all families to choose their school rather than encourage neighborhood schools- so she is recommending to close our neighborhood school to allow more choice? Let's show the Seattle School Board what it means to be a community. Not just school families, but all of Arbor Heights!

Jose Rodriguez said...

These random acts of administrative privilege usually went unnoticed in a Web 1.0 world. As a fellow third grade teacher in a community school, I too feel threatened. In a world where the bottom line is more important than people we come together in cyberspace to find a solution to our common problems. After reading through your posts and having interacted with you for the last year or so, I feel that it is unjust for your school to be displaced in this manner. I ask the school board to reconsider the repercussions on the lives of families and teachers of Arbor Heights Elementary. Your NOT closing down a Program. You are disregarding all the good and possibilities of a school community.