It was déjà vu all over again.
In late December the Redmond School District shared some big news with its Key Communicators, a stakeholders group that regularly attend informational sessions at the district office.
It was big news about a big decision, a decision that had been some time in coming, a decision that was shared with a select few district employees but not to the group impacted most – students and parents.
The decision to close Edwin Brown Alternative High School and ‘redesign’ alternative education in the district was a move uncomfortably close to the misstep the district made when it redrew attendance boundaries throughout the district with no input from the community.
For an organization that states “We value the community as a partner in the education of our students” as part of its core values, this unexpected decision struck many as ill-conceived and dictatorial.
Statistics, reports and letters came pouring in to the media from supporters, defending the academic status of the student body and the unique small learning environment it creates.
The district replied with forward-thinking press releases with statements such as “We need to redesign our continuum of alternative learning opportunities based on what we have learned is working.”
Supporters of Brown debate the district contention that their school is unsuccessful in its mission, and even those who allow there is room for improvement argue that this throwing-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater mentality is not the answer.
Few doubt the district’s position that putting alternative education students closer to vocational and technology programs is a smart idea, but to do that they either need to be in the Redmond High building or transported there – one defeats the reason Brown students opted for a different learning environment in the first place and the other would cost money that the district says it is trying to save by closing the school.
Except for a handful of kids who’ve had brushes with the law, most Brown students are square pegs who feel invisible in large schools, kids who often don’t have the parental resources to help them through adolescence, kids who don’t usually receive the notice, praise and acknowledgement dished out by many school administrators and staff in mainstream schools.
The as yet unchartered Proficiency Academy that district officials feel will work for many Brown students, with its flexible curriculum and varied hours, will likely be just the ticket for some, but useless for the students who are not self-starters and need the connection with trusted teachers to stay involved.
The announcement of the upcoming school closure was eerily familiar in other ways, as well. The choice was made and its impacts are only months away, yet no one had any idea what would take its place. Would alternative ed students have their own school, even if it was housed in an existing school? Would all the displaced teachers have jobs? Would teachers and students be able to maintain the close mentoring relationships begun at Brown?
Remind you of anything – say Redmond High School’s decision to use the Hartman building before anybody had any idea how that would work?
Not enough information is in yet to know whether this choice was a good one, and maybe that’s the point. Had the district opened up the Brown issue to the community, and shared the information gathered, perhaps everyone could feel better about the decision.
But they didn’t, and once again are dealing with the fallout of insufficient gauging of the “community’s collective educational vision.”
One student at a recent meeting with district staff and Brown supporters summed it up best when he asked “What’s the school board and the superintendent for? What the hell were you thinking when you made this decision without first knowing what you were going to do (to replace Brown)?”
Community meetings ad nauseum were held by the district prior to the latest bond vote, one that asked for $110 million for new schools, yet none were called to discuss something the district says will save at best $300,000.
Sudden announcements about life-altering things, whether the outcome could be good or bad, make people react negatively.
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