All:
I
assume that you all have heard the news that the Haley will be converting to a
K-8.
I
am sending this email for three reasons.
First
is to let the whole committee know how much I have enjoyed getting to know you
in the past year. You have become my
friends and I look forward to seeing you at the Irving next year where my
daughter will be a 6th grader, and to fighting to good fight for Boston kids with
you. And if anyone wants to get together
for a drink from time to time . . . well, let’s just say I could use some more
of that in my life.
Second,
I want to say how I feel about the Haley K-8 conversion. There have been many times in the past year
when I felt caught in the middle. I came
to RPAG meetings in good faith, hoping to offer what I could to the
pathway. But about halfway through the
year I became aware that the Haley was making a tremendous push to convert to a
K-8 and that it had a pretty good chance of success.
When
I first learned of those plans, my first reaction was not particularly
positive. Partly because of the pathway
and partly for personal reasons. As much
as my kids and I love the Haley, my 5th grader has been a bit stir crazy and is
really looking forward to the increased opportunities the Irving will offer
her.
As
the Haley’s RPAG representative, I tried to play a limited role of increasing
communication between the two sides. That
put me in a position to listen to what both sides had to say. And I came out of that process convinced
that the K-8 was the best thing.
The
parents who pushed for the K-8 are parents of kids with IEPs, and they spoke on
behalf of many other parents of kids with IEPs who were largely unaware that
there was even a push being made for a K-8.
I have known some of those kids since they were toddlers. I think of one child I know who came to the
Haley in a mid-level grade and has been there for two years now. The improvements she has made has been
remarkable. When asked about her
favorite thing about the Haley she said, “I made friends.” This was something new for her.
I
understand that the Irving could technically teach all Haley students, and I
understand that there are some special-needs students that the Haley cannot
accommodate and the Irving can. I
believe I am quoting Karen when I say that the kids with IEPs that the Haley
helps the most are those who are capable of being in a regular classroom 80
percent of the time. (I assume she’s right about that -- I really don’t know
the details.)
What
I have come to understand is that for those kids a full-inclusion school is
absolutely the best educational opportunity for them, academically and
socially. I believe their IEP’s say
that. That means no AWC and no
subseparate classrooms and no missing electives for extra help with academics. Those kids, like all kids, have the right to
learn in an environment that is best for them.
And for those kids who full inclusion is not right for -- diversity of
schools is a strength of the BPS.
(I
don’t want this to be an argument about semantics. I know full inclusion does not mean every kid
no matter what special needs they have can come to this school. It means that the kids in the school are not
separated out from one another based on their special needs.)
I
would also note that in sitting at RPAG meetings it often struck me that the
Haley was not a particularly good fit with the other elementary schools. The curriculum
seems very different.
Third,
I am writing to ask for civility in this debate. The Haley parents who fought for the K-8 are
members of your community and you will be crossing paths with them for a long
time to come. Also, they are lovely
people, just like all of you.
All
of them, like every parent, wants what is best for their kids. That does not make them “entitled.” It makes them caring parents.
The
conversion to a K-8 does not make the Haley like a charter school. It is a public school with union
teachers. It will participate in the
same lottery as all the other schools and every kid will have the same chance
of getting in as they have at any other school.
Kids with IEP’s the Haley cannot accommodate will not be assigned there
any more than they would be assigned to a different BPS school that can’t
accommodate them.
The
video presented to the school committee was not a “fancy video.” No offense to the people who made it -- it
was lovely -- but it’s just a parent-made video.
It
is not the goal of these parents to take away resources from other schools or
from other kids or to “jump the line” on k-8 conversion. They made a presentation to the
administration that was compelling.
The
fact that resources are limited does not mean that we should hold everyone down
-- and yes, that is how some of the comments come across. It means that we should all fight for more
resources so that every kid gets the education they need and deserve. I am committed to doing that, and I know all
of you are.
Nina
