Title: Save Oakwood Open Campus High School Target: Cobb County School District Overview: Oakwood Open Campus High School is an alternative high school in Cobb County. On Monday, April 26th, 2010, the Cobb County School Board voted on budget cuts. They approved the elmination of 733 positions, including 31 alternative education positions. There are 31 staff members at Oakwood. This means that all of the current staff at Oakwood are out of jobs. This also means that Oakwood's current students that aren't on the graduation list, are out of a school. The students at Oakwood went there for a reason. Oakwood is Cobb County's only open campus school. We are given more responsibility and more freedom. We are also given a second chance. But, that second chance is being taken away from all of us who have finally found success at Oakwood. Now what is going to happen to us? One of the main reasons Oakwood works so well is because of the teachers. They are so passionate about teaching, and do it so well. They are truly dedicated to teaching, and you can tell they love what they do. If the teachers are replaced by computers, students aren't going to learn nearly as well. Especially considering their prior difficulties in education. The school board's plan is to turn Oakwood "digital." What the school board doesn't understand is, we already have optional NovaNet classes. They don't work for everyone. In fact, a lot of students say that they retain information better when it is taught to them by a teacher, as opposed to reading on a computer. If they don't retain the information they learned, how are they supposed to pass the mandatory graduation test? We, the undersigned, urge the Cobb County Board of Education to reconsider their vote about closing/restructuring Oakwood. We understand budget cuts are necessary, but cutting the entire Oakwood High School program is only going to cause more students to drop out. We need to keep our staff, and keep Oakwood alive for tomorrow's graduates.