Tonight I went to a school board meeting.
I went into the meeting initially understanding very little about a decision that the board was to vote on. I needed to hear the presentations given as the decision could affect our family. That is, if we choose to send North to our school district. (We have lots of community choices, thankfully)
The town I live in is a somewhat slow growing population in a county of declining school enrollment. However, it is also in a community of relatively affordable housing in a state that is considered by some to be Golden. So prospects of schools gaining in enrollment later on, are possible. Two elementary schools make up our district; one of which 50 years ago earlier merged into the town school district.
The "town" elementary school runs a Spanish immersion program in addition to traditional classrooms. The students in the immersion program are excelling with their education, the traditional kids are not. The "country" school is doing fine based upon the kids test scores, but could use some cultural diversification. (that opinion is all mine!) Coupled with the county-wide decline in school enrollment causing every district to tighten their belts, the school board has decided to change the way the two elementary schools work in order to better serve the needs 0f all kids in the district.
Tonight the school board is considering two options.
Option one: Run one school as a full Spanish immersion program, traditional kids would go to the other school.
Option two: Run one school as K-2, the other would be 3-5.
Parents from the "country" school are upset that "town" kids would be mingling with their kids. "After all, they didn't choose to put their kids in the Spanish class right?" Why should their kids be with the other kids who come from Spanish households?
Or even worse, druggie families, ick! "Make those kids go somewhere else!"
This is what some of the parents are implying during the meeting, I am not being sarcastic or making it up! The school board meeting was a bit emotional.
I didn't stay for most of the public comment or for the vote. I will be able to read about it all in the paper tomorrow. But I went to the meeting and later talked with two friends on the phone (one a past principal of the Spanish Immersion school, now a Superintendent of a neighboring district, and the other gentlemen also a past principal of a SoCal school), because I want to know more about the process that will create a school that North may attend in the not -to- distant future.
I want my children to go to a school community that is dynamic and culturally sensitive to a global world. I know I live in a very white community. I don't speak a second language and many of my friends look and think in ways that are very similar to mine. But to me, it doesn't mean that this is an optimal or the only environment to grow and thrive in. I would like to show all of my children that they can see themselves as a small (yet important) part of a larger world. A major step in their educational lives will involve the school that Reed and I send them to.
Personally, I think the "country" parents are sunk. Regardless of the vote, their kids will be mingled with the undesirables. Some parents will take their children elsewhere, but after a bit time all families will adapt. All of the kids in this school district, regardless of socio-economic status will be given a fairer chance at better teachers, access to equal materials and services, and just possibly the parental involvement may increase also. The last part was a bit of a stretch, but I can hope for our future, right?