Fisher and Southampton to remain open, two 4th District candidates ask for a plan
For the most part the vote last night by school board members to keep Fisher and Southampton Elementary schools open was a formality. The school board had already announced it’s intent to ignore the recommendations of the consultant-led group that had studied rezoning in the city for almost all of a year. Although this is good news for parents with children currently enrolled in the those schools it doesn’t address the issue of low attendance.
RTD quotes Kristen Larson who was at the meeting;
Kristen Larson, one of five candidates for the School Board seat in the 4th District, which includes Fisher and Southampton, cautioned the board to give more thought to the Fisher neighborhood.
“If the school is a magnet (school), where is the plan?” she asked.
She also asked the board and the school administration to figure out why the school attracted such a low percentage of neighborhood students, then to do something about it.
From Mary Blanchard’s Facebook Page;
Last night the School Board voted to keep both Fisher and Southampton Elementary Schools open. With only 23% of Fisher’s students coming from its neighborhood zone, the school needs to look at ways to make Fisher a school of choice for its area.
From Rich Savage’s Facebook Page;
I applaud this decision and happy I was able to voice my support in favor of keeping these schools open.
Kristen is already showing the leadership we need on the School Board.
Keeping Fisher elementary school open is one of the seven key issues on my platform for City Council. In early July I was on the phone with School Board members. Last night at the School Boards public hearing, I was one of three citizens to speak. I thanked our School Board for digging deeper into the recommendation to close Fisher and saying no. Keeping both schools open is the right academic decision. Dr. Charlene Brooks, Fisher’s Principal come over and thanked me for my remarks to the Board. The reason many parents in the 4th send their children to private schools vs. Richmond Public Schools is an issue bigger than Fisher. But it is an issue that must be addressed very soon, if Richmond is to be a World Class City. Johnny Walker for 4th District City Council
Mr. Walker,
Please why you didn’t think Fisher sold be closed, despite the impartial recommendations that it should be. It seems like you are just more of the same, pandering to localized constituents without a plan on how to fix things. Richmond should be ashamed of it’s public schools and the fact that nobody wants to attend these schools given other choices tells me enough. Very difficult decisions must be made that many people either won’t like or understand. Anything close to business as usual won’t solve our problems. If you aren’t wiling to be an agent of change then you a aren’t the right person for the job.
Greg,
We are in agreement, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) has not been a priority of City Council. Bringing RPS back to the academic excellence it once enjoyed is #1 on my 7 point platform. When I attended Thomas Jefferson HS, a RPS, TJ was ranked as one of the top ten academic high schools in the Country. When my son graduated from Huguenot,a RPS in the 4th District, he had received 12 quality years from RPS that open doors to a Yale scholarship (1994). It can be done. Make our schools safe for all children to learn and receive a first class education. Citizens in the 4th should feel comfortable sending their children to RPS. That means we must invest dollars in RPS to reduce class sizes and recruit the best teachers. Fisher and Southhampton are schools with high academic performance. You don’t close those top academic schools, you use their road map to excellence and mirror it in the schools that are just barely meeting the minimal standard requirements. Council must stop talking about it and take immediate action. Johnny Walker for the 4th District City Council