Preserving South Kingstown Elementary Schools!

Hello neighbors and friends :).

We are South Kingstown Neighbors for Neighborhood Schools, a group of community members and neighbors advocating for transparency in South Kingstown Elementary Schools, and we need your help. On January 20th, the South Kingstown School Committee voted to close one of the elementary schools here in South Kingstown, RI in the upcoming school year, 2022-2023. A decision which will have far reaching effects on not only the school that was voted to close, but on the entire community.  Children from all 4 elementary schools are going to get "redistricted" and "dispersed".  It has not yet been decided or communicated which school elementary students will go to this September.

We feel that taking away the community of friends and teachers from our elementary schools while the pandemic is already robbing these kids of normalcy and stability is NOT what is best for our children right now.  As a group of concerned neighbors and community members, we are appealing this decision to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).  For years, our community has, unfortunately,  been divided and pitted against one another.   We are fighting, not only to keep Wakefield Elementary School open, but to keep ALL South Kingstown elementary schools open and united. The decision to close a high performing elementary school in the heart of a beloved, vibrant, yet vulnerable downtown, in the midst of a pandemic was not done so with the transparency and preparation that a major decision like this demands. A petition signed by local businesses was delivered to the School Committee and Town Council before the vote on January 20th, but it was disregarded. We agree that there are changes and improvements that need to be made in our district, but our students and our community needs stability at this time, especially for our youngest learners, while the community focuses on the larger issues.  

We tried to speak up at School Committee meetings about this rushed decision and express our desire that this decision be based on factual data. We wrote letter after letter to School Committee members and expressed our concerns at School Committee meetings to no avail.  It seemed that no member of the School Committee was listening, their minds were already made up, without the input from the community or our educators. We want to live in a community that values TWO way discussion and although a survey was sent out, it was poorly conceived, hard to understand and read, and sent hastily before the holidays to parents. Out of over 30,000 residents, the survey garnered only roughly 260 responses.   

The school committee stated at its vote on January 20th that this decision was NOT about the children, "Stop being so emotional!", we were told. They emphasized that this was a financial decision about buildings. Yet the School Committee never shared any figures proving the actual savings. Wakefield Elementary School is a true neighborhood school with a wonderfully high population of students who walk or are driven through town to school. Closing this school will now require long bus rides instead of short walks to schools (and crossing the bridge over the river with ducks and turtles!) and is NOT good for our planet, or community, or our children. We don't know if the busing costs of the misplaced children will be cheaper than keeping the school open. This information was not researched prior to the vote on January 20th. The January 20th decision does NOT take into the consideration what is best for our children.

Closing one of the elementary schools and maximizing the classroom size of three remaining schools is NOT good for any child. Research shows that smaller class sizes correlate with better educational outcomes. In 2011, various studies on the reduction of class size and student achievement were analyzed by The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. The analysis of these studies showed that a a reduction in class size by just 7 students, (or 32 percent) was found to "increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later." The studies also prove that a reduction of class size "can have significant long-term effects on student achievement and other meaningful outcomes. These effects seem to be largest when introduced in the earliest grades". Find the article  HERE . The School Superintendents Association (AASA) cites the "compelling" evidence that "small class size matters a great deal for the schooling of young children", in THIS article.  

Yes, there are changes and improvements that need to be made in our district and to our buildings, but our students and our community need stability at this time, especially for our youngest learners, while the community focuses on the larger problem.  

We also feel as though a decision made in regards to closing a school should not be made when we have an interim superintendent and two School Committee members who were appointed, not voted in by the community at large. Making drastic changes during the peak of the pandemic and without adequate discussion is simply inappropriate.

We have met with a lawyer and we are appealing this decision to RIDE. Lawyers, however, are expensive. But, we believe that our children and our community are worth it!! We are asking for your help and support.  Anything that you could provide for this cause would be greatly appreciated. Together we can continue to improve this town that we love, but first we need to protect it.   And that includes protecting one of the assets it has, right on the river, in a place significant in ecology and history and essential for our strong community feel and sense of place. 

As a group, it is difficult for us to ask for such large financial help at a time when many families are struggling, and it is not a decision that we take lightly. We are greatly distressed that it has gotten to this point. We tried to plead for our schools, our community and our children as a unified group of concerned neighbors and community members before it got to this point. However, this has not worked. At this point, if we want to fight for our students, it is evident that we need the help of a lawyer.

Please feel free to share this gofundme with friends, neighbors and family. We CAN work together to SAVE ALL OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS and set our youngest learners up for the highest level of success! Thank you so much!!!!