Community Call To Action Over crowding at Morningside Elementary has become critical. With our school enrollment now hundreds of students over its planning capacity, our stellar programs are being cut, portables are significantly reducing our play areas, and neighborhood traffic during arrival and dismissal times is nearing gridlock. Most importantly, we feel that this situation is having a negative impact on the educational environment at the school and on the well-being of its students and staff. Parents of Morningside students and concerned community members have signed below to urge APS to find a long-term positive solution now. We ask that the following guidelines, based on the priorities identified by parents and community members at the PTA/LSC-sponsored Community Forum held on March 14,2006, work as a framework for that solution: 1. APS must provide neighborhood K-5 schools of excellent quality withstudent populations in the 450-600 student range, based on the APS ideal size for an elementary school as defined by the BuildSmart Plan. 2. APS must build a new K-5 school carved out of the MES district. An annex or a \"super-school\" with a split campus is not an acceptable long-term solution. An annex (at the Howard School or any other site) is only acceptable as a short-term solution while a new school is being built. 3. APS must begin addressing long-term capacity at Inman and Grady now; the period of monitoring is over. 4. APS must improve communication with parents and the community, releasing information and updates in a timely and consistent manner to the entire community. Information should be released directly to MES, and then disseminated to all community members, not just through various neighborhood groups and individuals. 5. While the long-term solution is being implemented, APS must not cut programs at MES and must provide full support (above and beyond normal staffing and funding formulas if necessary) for school staff, administration, and students. We love our school and our community. Morningside Elementary is a special place where amazing learning takes place everyday. Please work with us to create a timely solution that will allow Morningside to remain a great example of APS and the community achieving excellence. By signing this petition, I am holding APS accountable for finding a positive long-term solution to the issues and priorities identified above.