Protest of Red Clay School Board's Attendance Zone Decision for Cooke Elementary School
57 Comments
E
Elizabeth Lockman
11 years ago
Hi, I am a concerned Red Clay parent, too, and I'd like to hear more details about the negative reaction to the inclusion of this community in the Cooke attendance zone? I think there might be some confusion about the way Title I funding works and its purpose, as well as the applicability of the Neighborhood Schools Act to our district at this time. What is the concern, really? Please advise...
B
Brent Rohm
11 years ago
do not bring that element into my area.
B
Barbara E Roman
11 years ago
This decision is extremely wrong!
H
hongliu sun
11 years ago
we need to know the truth of this. Why change in last minutes without notice to our community?
N
Nancy McMann
11 years ago
Proper due process Red Clay School Board!
L
Lex Burkett
11 years ago
I demand thius be changed back to the original pattern.
D
Denise Cunningham
11 years ago
Overcrowd another school and leave closer school half empty????
D
Denise Cunningham
11 years ago
Last minute change with no feedback and what happened to going to the school closest to your house.
S
Stella LaBarre
11 years ago
No thanks!
I
Itala Murphy
11 years ago
How can you change the decision at the last minute and without notifiying everyone? When were you going to notify the families involved?
C
Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School
· petition starter
11 years ago
Stephanie Wilson
R
Raffaela Ciabattoni
11 years ago
Featured
The LCA students should be going to Marbrook. I don't agree with the plan of putting them in Cooke, which would make the capacity at 95%. What will happen if more students come into the area, and Cooke is their feeder pattern? You'll have the same problem you have now, like at Brandywine Springs...over capacity.
X
Xudong Chen
11 years ago
United, we fight for Cooke to be a Neighborhood School!
X
Xudong Chen
11 years ago
Everyone MUST show up at the 11/19 (6:30PM) Shcool Board meeting at Brandywine Springs School. It's our chance to be heard and to get the board to reverse their decision!!!
C
Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School
· petition starter
11 years ago
Absolutely agreed, Xudong! Board member Cathy Thompson (the only Board Member to vote AGAINST this motion) said that if we have an awesome turnout at the meeting, then there is a chance for the decision to be reversed!!! Show up no later than 6:30 at Brandywine Springs School prepared to share your points in 3 minutes or less. Main points can include:
1) The Board's decision was not the right thing to do;
2) The community was given no voice as a result of their last-minute action;
3) This decision is NOT in the best interest of Lancaster Court Apartment students as they will not be eligible for Title 1 (special school funding and other benefits) that they would receive at another school. How is this helping students??
4) This decision violates the Neighborhood Schools Act;
5) Passing of the upcoming referendum is at risk if this decision is not reversed
The more presence we have at the meeting, the more of an impact we will make!!!
C
Concerned Neighbors of Cooke Elementary School
· petition starter
11 years ago
Thank you for raising this important point. We are not concerned with the inclusion of LCA students in Cooke but with the Board's last-minute decision to add a non-contiguous neighborhood to a neighborhood school when three closer schools are available with sufficient capacity, and closer neighborhoods are not in the feeder pattern. In one evening the School Board undermined a six-month collaborative effort by the Attendance Zone Committee to develop a community-approved plan of contiguous neighborhoods, in accordance with the Neighborhood Schools Act (NSA). The purpose of building a new elementary school was to more evenly distribute attendance across schools; the addition of 60 incremental students puts Cooke at a higher than necessary capacity when closer schools could accommodate them. It makes no sense. According to Cathy Thompson, Board Member and attorney, the Board failed the community and does not seem to be acting in accordance with the NSA (law).
The message that we hope people will convey at the 11/19 meeting has nothing to do with including LCA or not; rather:
1) Lack of transparency -- the Board provided no notice of the surprising addendum to the community prior to their vote;
2) No voice -- the community had no opportunity to be heard on a matter that could have been presented and discussed months before;
3) Legality -- the Board's action seems to contradict the law (pending legal review)
The fact that LCA students will not get the services and benefits that they are entitled to is unfortunate and (assumingly) unintentional by the Board. You can google "Title 1" to learn more about specifics. Hopefully LCA parents are aware of these changes and will share their concerns with the Board. Getting the word out to so many people when there is no publicity about the situation is a challenge. If you would like to become involved and engage the LCA community, please do so. Since they do not attend our school presently, we have no way of contactin
A
Adrienne Bane
11 years ago
After reading all the comments from concerned parents, I'm wondering why none of you have come to the rescue of other schools in Red Clay who are near or over capacity with 90% Title 1 students. If that is truly your concern, why not advocate for ALL the schools affected by a high percentage of Title 1 kids?
Hi, I am a concerned Red Clay parent, too, and I'd like to hear more details about the negative reaction to the inclusion of this community in the Cooke attendance zone? I think there might be some confusion about the way Title I funding works and its purpose, as well as the applicability of the Neighborhood Schools Act to our district at this time. What is the concern, really? Please advise...
do not bring that element into my area.
This decision is extremely wrong!
we need to know the truth of this. Why change in last minutes without notice to our community?
Proper due process Red Clay School Board!
I demand thius be changed back to the original pattern.
Overcrowd another school and leave closer school half empty????
Last minute change with no feedback and what happened to going to the school closest to your house.
No thanks!
How can you change the decision at the last minute and without notifiying everyone? When were you going to notify the families involved?
Stephanie Wilson
The LCA students should be going to Marbrook. I don't agree with the plan of putting them in Cooke, which would make the capacity at 95%. What will happen if more students come into the area, and Cooke is their feeder pattern? You'll have the same problem you have now, like at Brandywine Springs...over capacity.
United, we fight for Cooke to be a Neighborhood School!
Everyone MUST show up at the 11/19 (6:30PM) Shcool Board meeting at Brandywine Springs School. It's our chance to be heard and to get the board to reverse their decision!!!
Absolutely agreed, Xudong! Board member Cathy Thompson (the only Board Member to vote AGAINST this motion) said that if we have an awesome turnout at the meeting, then there is a chance for the decision to be reversed!!! Show up no later than 6:30 at Brandywine Springs School prepared to share your points in 3 minutes or less. Main points can include: 1) The Board's decision was not the right thing to do; 2) The community was given no voice as a result of their last-minute action; 3) This decision is NOT in the best interest of Lancaster Court Apartment students as they will not be eligible for Title 1 (special school funding and other benefits) that they would receive at another school. How is this helping students?? 4) This decision violates the Neighborhood Schools Act; 5) Passing of the upcoming referendum is at risk if this decision is not reversed The more presence we have at the meeting, the more of an impact we will make!!!
Thank you for raising this important point. We are not concerned with the inclusion of LCA students in Cooke but with the Board's last-minute decision to add a non-contiguous neighborhood to a neighborhood school when three closer schools are available with sufficient capacity, and closer neighborhoods are not in the feeder pattern. In one evening the School Board undermined a six-month collaborative effort by the Attendance Zone Committee to develop a community-approved plan of contiguous neighborhoods, in accordance with the Neighborhood Schools Act (NSA). The purpose of building a new elementary school was to more evenly distribute attendance across schools; the addition of 60 incremental students puts Cooke at a higher than necessary capacity when closer schools could accommodate them. It makes no sense. According to Cathy Thompson, Board Member and attorney, the Board failed the community and does not seem to be acting in accordance with the NSA (law). The message that we hope people will convey at the 11/19 meeting has nothing to do with including LCA or not; rather: 1) Lack of transparency -- the Board provided no notice of the surprising addendum to the community prior to their vote; 2) No voice -- the community had no opportunity to be heard on a matter that could have been presented and discussed months before; 3) Legality -- the Board's action seems to contradict the law (pending legal review) The fact that LCA students will not get the services and benefits that they are entitled to is unfortunate and (assumingly) unintentional by the Board. You can google "Title 1" to learn more about specifics. Hopefully LCA parents are aware of these changes and will share their concerns with the Board. Getting the word out to so many people when there is no publicity about the situation is a challenge. If you would like to become involved and engage the LCA community, please do so. Since they do not attend our school presently, we have no way of contactin
After reading all the comments from concerned parents, I'm wondering why none of you have come to the rescue of other schools in Red Clay who are near or over capacity with 90% Title 1 students. If that is truly your concern, why not advocate for ALL the schools affected by a high percentage of Title 1 kids?