I’ve been reading the news reports about the pre-emptive efforts of Hollyrood parents who assume that their small school is on a list of PPS schools likely to be closed as part of budget cuts.

And while I understand their strong desire to preserve their unique school community and applaud their school’s excellent reputation, I have to take issue with some of the assumptions or suggestions some of the parents are throwing out (or highlight the contradictions, in one case.)

My son attends Fernwood Middle School. I have a daughter who is currently in second grade. They are in two entirely different realms emotionally and have very different educational needs; I would be strongly against any suggestion that would have Hollyrood kids from grades 3-on move over to Fernwood (instead of feeding into Laurelhurst, as they now do.) It’s an oil and water mix, in my opinion, and will benefit neither group of kids.

First, if the whole selling point of keeping Hollyrood intact is to preserve a small school structure, why in the world would you want to throw the older kids into a large middle school that’s currently serving 550+ kids? Fernwood is uniquely set up to support a 6-8 arrangement; asking it to divert resources and/or create a structure suitable for 100+ 3-5th graders is an unrealistic expectation, in my opinion. (For starters, there’s no playground equipment available - unless you want to walk the kids across busy 33rd Avenue at recess time, that is..) If you want kids feeding into another entity, why not take a look at another elementary school nearby that could use increased enrollment - say, Irvington or Sabin?

Second - what’s so wrong about a larger elementary school? The assumptions and complaints I’ve heard about larger schools - feeling invisible to school administration and teachers, for example - just don’t hold true, in my experience. My daughter attends Buckman Elementary - a school that’s been held out lately as a model to follow.

I can say with great confidence that we’re not just a number at Buckman, and my daughter’s getting a quality education because Buckman’s able to offer her more than she’d get at a smaller school.

Not only does the principal know my daughter’s name - she’s stopped to offer us a ride to school on nothing more than recognizing the two of us as we waited for a TriMet bus last year. My son’s Irvington principal asked me about his progress - three years after he’s been gone from Irvington - when I happened to run into her around town recently. And I’ve exchanged countless emails with teachers and other school professionals who know me and know my kids - even as late as 9:30 at night, even though neither kid is a ‘problem child’ or stands out in any way, even though I’m a working single parent with little visibility these days inside the schools themselves.

And it’s true that a larger school can command valuable resources (or house other resources) through sheer volume alone, in ways both tangible and intangible. Buckman’s SUN school program and Community Partnership program help provide programs and assistance for the entire family, while Buckman parents collectively fund a part time librarian through the PTA and other fundraising. Finally - yes, we’re an Arts Magnet school; yes, that means we have music and dance and drama and art instructors that other schools can only dream of - but we adjust our staffing priorities in other ways to preserve that focus.

Hollyrood parents: I can understand wanting to preserve something that’s working well for your school community. I’d urge you, however, to rethink some of the negative assumptions you have about larger schools, please.

But unless you can make an airtight case for moving a minority of 3-5th graders to a middle school, I’m going to come down on the ‘no elementary kids in Fernwood’ camp…!

Related posts:

1. Proposed PPS school overhaul in the works
2. Security guards in high schools
3. Buckman Pool open house
4. PPS school plan offered up…
5. Portland Public Schools