Heres the letter a few of us got together and sent today - - TopicsExpress

Heres the letter a few of us got together and sent today - September 11, 2014 Dear Dr. Register: Thank you for your ongoing commitment to strengthen Nashville’s schools and children. Each of us has made a commitment to supporting neighborhood public schools with our time, talent and financial resources. Over the last decade, numerous schools in the Stratford and Maplewood Clusters have undergone dramatic academic transformations because of fantastic leadership and teaching and the engagement of committed parents. We acknowledge that there are critical decisions that must be made in East Nashville to assure the academic success of all kids, and we understand this will likely mean school closures and reconfigurations. We acknowledge that charter and non-charter options need to be a part of this plan that reflects our kids and our community. Many things are going right in East Nashville. Lockeland Design Center continues to shine as one of the best elementary schools in the state. Dan Mills is a perfect example of what can happen when strong leadership, exemplary teachers and committed parents come together to create a school environment that serves all students well – and with great results. East Middle Magnet and High as well as Litton Middle continue to undergo dynamic transformations and are on track to become even better with every passing school year. KIPP and Stratford provide great success models, as well. Inglewood Elementary is gathering positive momentum as administrators, teachers and parents there work together with other members of the community to create the best possible school environment for the children currently in attendance there. We are all in this together—charter school parents, parents sending children to the schools they are zoned for, and parents who have chosen schools through the MNPS lottery system. We have much to be proud of in our community, and yet we realize there is more work to do. We would like to chart this course with the Metro School leadership. The announcement of a plan for East Nashville at the board meeting on September 9th took many of us by surprise. We lead the parent engagement efforts at our neighborhood schools. We support teachers and principals each day. We are not aware of any transparent discussions having taken place with parents or parent groups prior to the plan design and announcement. The idea that “swift” action will be taken without time for meaningful and open conversation has left us feeling concerned. Our greatest concern is that you may plan to enact significant change prior to the next MNPS-wide lottery process, and this may not allow time for any true discussion or debate on the proposed changes. We respectfully request that a copy of the plan be posted publically on the MNPS website and circulated to all PTO/PTSO groups in the two affected clusters by September 15th. Additionally, we request that the Metro School Board agree to a 90-day moratorium before any action is taken on this plan and that public meetings be scheduled and appropriately noticed so that a wide range of parents can attend and participate within this time frame. Finally, we would like to be informed of which school leaders were consulted in creating this plan, as we as parent leaders were not contacted in the plan development, and we feel that we could be a valuable resource to you as you work to continue the positive trajectory of our public schools in East Nashville. We want and need a productive and transparent conversation about our kids, our schools and our community. We plan to work together to help ensure this conversation occurs and that any plan couched in the rhetoric of parent choice actually involves meaningful parent input. We hope very much to do this with MNPS staff and school board leadership. We eagerly await your response to our requests. Respectfully, Emily Booth Masters, Dan Mills E.S. PTO President and Litton M.S. parent Virginia W. Carter, Isaac Litton M.S. PTSO President Kathy Truitt, Lockeland Design Center PTO President Stephanie Shelton, Inglewood E.S. PTO President Denise Queener, Dan Mills E.S. PTO Past President Venus Wooten, Litton M.S. PTSO Past President, Past Dan Mills E.S. PTO Membership Chair and PAC Representative Cari Sands, Litton M.S. PTSO President Elect and Dan Mills E.S. parent Amy Phelan, Dan Mills E.S. PTO Vice President Kelly Harkins, Dan Mills E.S. PTO Vice President Tara Johnson, Inglewood E.S. PTO Secretary Wendy Hinton, Dan Mills E.S. PTO Secretary Jai Sanders, Inglewood E.S. PTO Board Member Betsy Pufahl, Dan Mills E.S. PTO Committee Chair Sarah Lowe, Lockeland Design Center, East Nashville Magnet School and Ross Pre-Kindergarten parent Ruth Stewart, Lockeland Design Center parent Carrie Fanning, Lockeland Design Center and Litton M.S. parent Jennifer Cole, Lockeland Design Center and Litton M.S. parent Kenny Byrd, Lockeland Design Center parent Cc: Members of the Metro School Board; Hon. Anthony Davis, Hon. Peter Westerholm, Hon. Karen Bennett, Hon. Scott Davis; Dr. Alan Coverstone; Dr. Jay Steele