BISD: School Reconfiguration is not a Budget Line Item!
12 Comments
T
Taya Hall
9 years ago
Collaborative agreements are the best kind - every stakeholder has had a say and everyone has "buy in." If the district wants to create a plan that benefits everyone, they should take the time to do it right. Please don't rush this decision.
J
Jennifer Wallach
9 years ago
Featured
I believe there is a fundamental lack of understanding here, with regard to what the Options program is all about and it's importance and relevance to not only the students and families, but to the entire community. To have one of the "options" be relocate EHHS to BHS and the 7/8 Odyssey program to Woodward makes no sense. Furthermore, it goes completely against the purpose of the programs in the first place. I urge BISD to listen carefully and thoughtfully, and to take TIME. This is too important to the lives of our children to be making such major and impactful decisions without the benefit of time and care.
T
Thomas Breen
9 years ago
As recent as just one year ago families relied on what the district represented to them when they took the leap and joined the Options community---"here's your school; this is your principal; this is the unique space that supports this unique learning environment, this program is separated from the traditional programs" etc....). The district now proposes to fundamentally dismantle the (ultra successful and popular) Options programs under the guise it wants to grow options. Say what? You don't grow a program by dismantling it. There is nothing pedagocially consistent with what makes for a good options program mentioned in the district's proposal (there's not even a mention of any pedagogical thought to the district's proposal). The district says that now, in March, it wants to "begin the conversation" about all of these drastic moves that would in theory be completed within 5 months. It's simple too little, too late: there's not enough time to put this together. It's so late there's not even enough notice for families who would go elsewhere (e.g. Eagle Harbor students) to budget for or even apply in time to transition to a non BISD school. The way this is being handled it creates a fundamental unfairness to families, some of whom moved to BI to make their high school at Eagle Harbor, and now will scramble to start over at another high school.
This might be a well-intentioned attempt at a budget fix and -----after a decade of more demand for options programs than the district provides--- an effort to finally address the need to expand options programs (before more families choose private school in the lower grades, which itself significantly lowers BI enrollments). But the plan is not well thought out, bereft of sound pedagogical principles as to what makes a successful options program, and is proposed so late in the school year that the district perhaps unwittingly exposes itself to being fairly criticized for putting forth an irresponsible proposal.
B
Bjorn Lunde
9 years ago
Take the time for an open public process!
L
Lauren Bonifield
9 years ago
Featured
Breaking up the options program and moving them into separate buildings would negatively impact the students currently attending these programs, especially the students in the 7/8 & EHHS programs.
C
Cyndy Salisbury
9 years ago
Please listen to your kids! Moving Eagle Harbor High onto the BHS campus will degrade this unique program.
K
Kelly Muldrow
9 years ago
More time is required to relocate the Commodore Options programs.
H
Heidi Watson
9 years ago
This lack of process, lack of transparency and lack of forethought is downright Trumpian.
O
Olivia harris
9 years ago
These programs thrive because they are intact and together. They are symbiotic, and at risk of delapidation, loss of culture, loss of students, if they are drastically altered or separated. Please let's find alternatives together
J
Jennifer Coates
9 years ago
It is absolutely unfair and irresponsible to effective eliminate the only alternative public school option. So much money tgoes into the sports programs and then with so little thought there is a proposal to cut in this extremely important and successful program. It's so very short sighted.
B
Bob Seaby
9 years ago
In ALL policy decisions made by the BISD the kids come first ... no ifs , no ands and no buts.
K
Kirsten Hytopoulos
· petition starter
9 years ago
Featured
In addition to the woefully inadequate public process and lack of consideration of any longterm planning & configuration impacts, the impact of the District's proposal on some of our community's most vulnerable kids has been completely disregarded. Taking EHHS, where many kids who would not survive on the BHS campus, and who have found a learning environment where they can thrive (academically, intellectually, socially and emotionally) and relocating it onto the main BHS campus is myopic at best, and arguably downright cruel.
Collaborative agreements are the best kind - every stakeholder has had a say and everyone has "buy in." If the district wants to create a plan that benefits everyone, they should take the time to do it right. Please don't rush this decision.
I believe there is a fundamental lack of understanding here, with regard to what the Options program is all about and it's importance and relevance to not only the students and families, but to the entire community. To have one of the "options" be relocate EHHS to BHS and the 7/8 Odyssey program to Woodward makes no sense. Furthermore, it goes completely against the purpose of the programs in the first place. I urge BISD to listen carefully and thoughtfully, and to take TIME. This is too important to the lives of our children to be making such major and impactful decisions without the benefit of time and care.
As recent as just one year ago families relied on what the district represented to them when they took the leap and joined the Options community---"here's your school; this is your principal; this is the unique space that supports this unique learning environment, this program is separated from the traditional programs" etc....). The district now proposes to fundamentally dismantle the (ultra successful and popular) Options programs under the guise it wants to grow options. Say what? You don't grow a program by dismantling it. There is nothing pedagocially consistent with what makes for a good options program mentioned in the district's proposal (there's not even a mention of any pedagogical thought to the district's proposal). The district says that now, in March, it wants to "begin the conversation" about all of these drastic moves that would in theory be completed within 5 months. It's simple too little, too late: there's not enough time to put this together. It's so late there's not even enough notice for families who would go elsewhere (e.g. Eagle Harbor students) to budget for or even apply in time to transition to a non BISD school. The way this is being handled it creates a fundamental unfairness to families, some of whom moved to BI to make their high school at Eagle Harbor, and now will scramble to start over at another high school. This might be a well-intentioned attempt at a budget fix and -----after a decade of more demand for options programs than the district provides--- an effort to finally address the need to expand options programs (before more families choose private school in the lower grades, which itself significantly lowers BI enrollments). But the plan is not well thought out, bereft of sound pedagogical principles as to what makes a successful options program, and is proposed so late in the school year that the district perhaps unwittingly exposes itself to being fairly criticized for putting forth an irresponsible proposal.
Take the time for an open public process!
Breaking up the options program and moving them into separate buildings would negatively impact the students currently attending these programs, especially the students in the 7/8 & EHHS programs.
Please listen to your kids! Moving Eagle Harbor High onto the BHS campus will degrade this unique program.
More time is required to relocate the Commodore Options programs.
This lack of process, lack of transparency and lack of forethought is downright Trumpian.
These programs thrive because they are intact and together. They are symbiotic, and at risk of delapidation, loss of culture, loss of students, if they are drastically altered or separated. Please let's find alternatives together
It is absolutely unfair and irresponsible to effective eliminate the only alternative public school option. So much money tgoes into the sports programs and then with so little thought there is a proposal to cut in this extremely important and successful program. It's so very short sighted.
In ALL policy decisions made by the BISD the kids come first ... no ifs , no ands and no buts.
In addition to the woefully inadequate public process and lack of consideration of any longterm planning & configuration impacts, the impact of the District's proposal on some of our community's most vulnerable kids has been completely disregarded. Taking EHHS, where many kids who would not survive on the BHS campus, and who have found a learning environment where they can thrive (academically, intellectually, socially and emotionally) and relocating it onto the main BHS campus is myopic at best, and arguably downright cruel.