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Proposal would spare Gallaudet, Nottingham schools
Board will vote March 12 on school closings
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| Erica Burrus photo/ Gallaudet School at 1616 S. Grand Blvd. would remain open under a proposal by city school Superintendent Kelvin Adams. Parents are rallying in support of the school for deaf, hearing-impaired, autistic and other students with special needs. | ||
Kim Richert stood up and high-fived a teacher as the meeting ended.
They had just heard Superintendent Kelvin Adams' recommendation for school closures. Their school had made it off the list.
Rickert of the Carondelet neighborhood sends her son, Bryan, to the school, which serves students who are deaf or hearing-impaired, students with autism spectrum disorders and cerebral palsy and others with special needs.
Consultants from MGT of America r ecommended in January that the St. Louis Public Schools close 29 buildings. The proposed closures included Gallaudet at 1616 S. Grand Blvd. and Nottingham Community Access and Job Training High School at 4915 Donovan Ave. Both are special education schools.
Rickert had expected as much.
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"It seems special education gets hit hard and hit first when money needs to be saved," Rickert said. "It was no big surprise we were on the list again."
Gallaudet, which has an enrollment of 47 students, has been mentioned in discussions of school closings since 2003, Rickert said. That's when the district under Superintendent William Roberti closed 16 schools. It came up again in discussions that led to school closures in 2007 and 2008.
When addressing the district's Special Administrative Board at a recent forum, Rickert stressed the importance of having schools like Gallaudet in the district.
"Every student attending Gallaudet School has a deficiency in the ability to communicate," she said. "For these students, small teacher/student ratios, playgrounds with their safety in mind, continuous routine, personal attention, knowing the people around them, positive reinforcement and a staff that simply does not give up on any student is vital to successful education."
Many of these students would not do well in an inclusion model, where they would mix with a large population of non-special needs students, Rickert said.
The same goes for students at Nottingham, where students who have developmental disabilities learn job skills and life skills in lieu of basic academics, said Robin Sayers of Lindenwood Park. Her son, Cortez, 16, attends the school. Cortez is not college-bound and the family worried how he would live independently before they found Nottingham. They love the school. Then they heard it could close.
"My heart just sank," she said. "I couldn't believe it. I had finally found the perfect place for Cortez and it was going to disappear."
Sayers heard that when the program was in the basement of Southwest High School, now Central High School, special needs students would be teased by other kids. Not at Nottingham.
"They're so proud," she said. "Their heads are up. They're different kids."
Sayers and her son both spoke at a community meeting on the facility recommendations and wrote letters to the SAB. As president of the school's Parent Teacher Organization, Sayers got other parents to come to the meetings and write letters.
The superintendent's recommendation calls for keeping both schools - for now. While Adams recommends closing 14 schools in June and three more in 2011, his plan spares the rest. He will give another report this April after staff has more time to review options.
The SAB will seek more details from Adams on the current proposal and vote on March 12. The board could instead choose the MGT proposal or mix the two.
Even if the SAB approves Adams' proposal, there is a possibility Gallaudet, Nottingham and more schools could close next year. Adams said there first would be a collaborative effort with the community to determine what will work best.
"The intent right now is to give us more time to see where they are and work with parents," Adams said. "The intent is to do no harm."
Although the MGT report recommends closing Gallaudet, assistant principal Carrie McDaniel said she knew when Adams visited the school it would speak for itself. Even if a decision is later made to close the building, it is more important for the students that the program remain intact, she said.
The program at Nottingham needs to stay intact and preferably stay in that building, said Brian O'Connor, interim principal of the school. He trusts the SAB to follow Adams' recommendation and keep the program in the building, which he called one of the few truly handicapped-accessible buildings owned by district.
Rickert, Sayers and O'Connor plan to keep everyone at their schools active as the SAB ponders its options.
"Our parents are already rallying again," O'Connor said. "They know they're not out of the woods."
Schools proposed to close in June 2009
Ashland Branch, Baden Elementary, Clark eMints Elementary, Des Peres Elementary, Mark Twain Elementary, Meda P. Washington Early Childhood Center, Scruggs Elementary, Shepard Elementary, Simmons-Marshall Elementary, Blewett Middle School, Stowe Middle School, Turner Middle School, Roosevelt Ninth Grade Center and Kottmeyer High School.
Schools proposed to close in June 2011
Cote Brilliante Elementary, Mann Elementary and Sherman Elementary (pending construction of two new schools).
Schools superintendent recommends stay open
Gallaudet, Patrick Henry Elementary, Mallinckrodt Elementary, Ames Elementary, Shaw Elementary, Shenandoah Elementary, Hickey Elementary, Bunche Middle School, L'Ouverture Middle School, McKinley Middle/High School, Stevens Middle School, Gateway Institute of Technology, Nottingham, Cleveland at Pruitt High School and Northwest High School.
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