The Observation Deck

Danielle Masters wrote:Is Grant the only success story? Absolutely not but Grant is a huge success and that should be noted. Grant is the only public elementary school in Lakewood to be a Blue Ribbon School.

The physical building at Grant did not win any awards, or teach any children. The excellent teachers and staff did. Lets not forget that. No matter which school building is relocated we will still have the great teachers for these kids. They will just teach in a different building.

The kids education is not in question, it is where they will walk/be driven to.

I also think it is interesting that the board talks about economic development when we have how many EMPTY schools just sitting already? Why would they be any more inclined to sell off Grant property over the ones already closed? They are doing the city and our children a disservice by sitting on these buildings already. The city is losing out on potential taxes and the schools bottom line could benefit from the sale of the properties. The school system is afraid of the private charter schools coming in. We will lose money for each child that transfers into a charter school, so they are sitting on the properties. I believe even if Grant is closed they will not sell it anytime soon, just look at the empty schools we already have.

I think the school board is doing a lot of good, but I think this is an area they really may screw up. They need to do the right thing in light of the upcoming levy and bond issues.

Yes all of Lakewood's schools are diverse. But Grant has a poverty levels of nearly 60% and 1 in 10 students speak english as a second language and I will repeat Grant is the only public elementary school in Lakewood to be a Blue Ribbon School. It is a damn fine school serving in the mostly densely populated area in a city that claims to be walkable. If Grant closes then there will not be a school between Athens and the railroad tracks. That sure makes Lakewood look walkable.

Can someone explain why I get bashed for say YAY Grant? Why is it wrong to say that the staff and the students and the parents at Grant have done an amazing job and even the state agrees? Why is it wrong to tout the school's success?

As for the other buildings sitting, they aren't on the market which is why they aren't sold yet. And if you look around the downtown area surrounding Grant you will notice a few large plots of land on Detroit that are for sale. Once again Grant is not on a main street it is in the middle of a residential block surrounded on three sides by more that 20 homes. I agree though, the buildings need to be sold but it has been made pretty clear through this process that no final decisions would be made on what to do with the buildings until the process is completed and the process isn't done yet which is why the buildings are sitting empty.


And I didn't mention Lincoln because my kids don't go there. All I know about it is through other people and through the report cards. I can't speak about the teachers or the staff because I don't know them and it would be wrong for me to speculate about a school that I have no knowledge of. But I will say yes Lincoln is rated excellent but I think almost everyone with a child in elementary school knows that while many don't know that Grant is also rated excellent. I'm just giving props to the school my kids attend, is there anything wrong with that?

Corey Rossen wrote:One thing that I can't leave unmentioned is my pure admiration of the "Ambush Method" of writing and promoting (as we used to call it in my school days) - and that is the overuse of the word or concept being promoted or advertised. Such as the word "Grant" is being used in your writing while ignoring and leaving out the word "LINCOLN." Trust me, I am not criticizing, just having flashbacks to Professor Imogene Bolls and Journalism 101, 102 and 103.

Corey Rossen

I feel the same way, even though I never took journalism. Ambush Method, pulling the class warfare card, etc. When will this stop?

I do admire the fight on both Lincoln and Grant sides. I now understand why the Kaufmann School never had a chance to get out of the gate. Yes, we were told it would cost too much. But, over the life of a bond issue, an additional 10 million or so to acquire the necessary property to do it right (strip mall, church, etc) would amount to the cost of a cup of coffee a month for each property owner. No, the cost didn't kill it. It's the inability to think about what's best for Lakewood. Too bad Lakewood is not ready for such a bold move. This is what would really work for the next 50 years! IMO

Interesting read:

[url] http://www.chillicothegazette.com/artic ... 1/1150309/ [url]

Ryan Salo wrote:

Danielle Masters wrote:Is Grant the only success story? Absolutely not but Grant is a huge success and that should be noted. Grant is the only public elementary school in Lakewood to be a Blue Ribbon School.

The physical building at Grant did not win any awards, or teach any children. The excellent teachers and staff did. Lets not forget that. No matter which school building is relocated we will still have the great teachers for these kids. They will just teach in a different building.

The kids education is not in question, it is where they will walk/be driven to.

I also think it is interesting that the board talks about economic development when we have how many EMPTY schools just sitting already? Why would they be any more inclined to sell off Grant property over the ones already closed? They are doing the city and our children a disservice by sitting on these buildings already. The city is losing out on potential taxes and the schools bottom line could benefit from the sale of the properties. The school system is afraid of the private charter schools coming in. We will lose money for each child that transfers into a charter school, so they are sitting on the properties. I believe even if Grant is closed they will not sell it anytime soon, just look at the empty schools we already have.

I think the school board is doing a lot of good, but I think this is an area they really may screw up. They need to do the right thing in light of the upcoming levy and bond issues.

Ryan

Maybe Lincoln School can be turned into Condo Units.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/07/02/Schools.ART_ART_07-02-07_A1_C976AT3.html

While the building Grant did not win any awards the insides of the building did, each school consists of a team of teachers, administration and staff which are unique to that said building. Teams work together. We see it all the time in sports when players leave or a new manager comes in things change, sometimes for better sometimes worse. If Grant were to close that team would no longer exist. That team would be spread out throughout the district. Now I am certain those that manage to keep their jobs would still be very effective but it wouldn't be the same. The team that earned that blue ribbon would not exist. And Ryan if the building itself isn't that important then it shouldn't matter to you which school closes. And if you think the team isn't that important than once again it shouldn't matter to you what school closes. We should merely look at where the students live and keep that school.

Danielle Masters wrote:if the building itself isn't that important then it shouldn't matter to you which school closes. And if you think the team isn't that important than once again it shouldn't matter to you what school closes. We should merely look at where the students live and keep that school.

Danielle,

If Lincoln closes, Grant as you know it will not exist. Teachers will still be moved around and the building as you know it will be gone, tons of new students will be there and the "team" you speak of will be altered.

The location is the only real issue here, teachers and physical buildings will all change.

Ryan Salo wrote:If Lincoln closes, Grant as you know it will not exist. Teachers will still be moved around and the building as you know it will be gone, tons of new students will be there and the "team" you speak of will be altered.

The location is the only real issue here, teachers and physical buildings will all change.

Ryan

Then you would say, that the safety issue might be the most important issue. The safety
of children crossing that dreaded Detroit Ave. as Ed Favre pointed out at the School Board meeting?

On a side note, I do find it amazing, that the two schools that achieved high ratings are
about to be scattered to the winds as you point out.

.

Safety should be an issue. Lakewood is a walking district. If Grant closes there will no longer be an elementary school between Athens and the railroad tracks which means many students will have to cross Madison, Detroit and the railroad tracks. How important is safety if so many students will have to cross major streets to get to schools? And of course if Grant closes and there are no longer any elementary schools in the center of town we will cease to be a truly walkable city which was supposedly a big concern all this time.

Danielle,

I agree with you and Jim. Since both of the buildings will be torn down and since the teachers will be moved around regardless of the decision, I think safety should be the largest factor. I think we should be able to limit the number of children that cross Detroit and Madison. If closing Lincoln will allow that to happen, I will be a Lincoln parent in favor of that happening.

Thank you Ryan for saying that.

I also agree. I want the least impact on children which is why Grant should not close. All of the data shows that closing Grant will displace the most children and put the most children the furthest from a school and cause more children to cross major roads. So besides this [sarcasm]potential[/sarcasm] economic windfall there is no reason that Grant should close.

Danielle, Jim, and Ryan,

It is both, Safety & Walkability/Location, but also a site that can allow us to grow if we need to for the next 50 years. At the last public BOE meeting it was reported that one of the rebuilt buildings may need to accommodate more students than originally planned. There are only 2 sites that can probably be really large schools.

But I really want to touch on something that was posted earlier:

Interesting read:

[url] http://www.chillicothegazette.com/artic ... 1/1150309/ [url]

I am of the feeling that we are not going to get the money from the State, or as easily as we once thought we would when we first started the entire project. That leaves a big question as to how we are even going to finance Phase III. I am of the understanding that the way it was "packaged" to the State that the remaining half of the high school plus the 2 of the 3 elementary schools would be built. Meaning that we couldn't separate the projects. In fact, I know someone asked and the response was that it couldn't be.

I am wondering about how we are going to get funded to finish the high school? I do think this should be a priority. Phase III is about more than which elementary schools will stay open. The Board will be placing a levy on the ballot May 5th and in 3 years time will have to come back and ask us to pass another levy (assuming the first one passes). All along Phase III would require a Bond plus a Permanent Improvement Levy. I doubt citizens will pass a larger bond to cover what the funding the State was to provide.

Kristine

Ryan Salo wrote:Danielle,

I agree with you and Jim.

Let me clarify. While I understand the safety concerns, I am merely relaying the information
Sgt Ed Favre talked about at the last Board meeting on TV. That one still seems to have vanished!
Where he spoke in length about the very real safety concerns he and the rest of the board
had about the wee ones crossing the deadly Detroit Ave. I personally think it is a great way
to teach the dangers of roads, cars and lights first hand. But Sgt. Favre underlined the fact
just how unsafe and unrealistic it is to put kids in dangers.

More importantly though!!!!!!!

The above quote must surely be a sign of the impending Apocalypse, as such we might just
want to wait and see what plagues the four horseman are about to bring.



.

We live in a city with very few minor safety challenges. If we can’t teach our kids to manage streets (Detroit and Madison are only 25 mph and have lights at about every other intersection), parking lots and train tracks how will they ever have the confidence to succeed at the more difficult challenges they will face? I have suggested that the district make SAFETY TOWN part of the elementary school curriculum rather than an optional summer program for a fee. This would insure that all students are provided the information they need to deal with the safety challenges facing them in our city.

I don't mean to suggest that safety shouldn't be a consideration in this decision but honestly, we need to get the big stuff right.

Jim,

No matter which school stays open, Lincoln or Grant, kids are going to have to cross Detroit and railroad tracks. Kids attending Roosevelt are also dealing with busy streets. The focus should be on the population of students that will experience the most amount of impact if their school should close. And really, we aren't really talking about the kids attending these schools now--they're all going to be caught up in transition--which I hope will be planned out well. That is a whole other issue. People forget that if your child attends a school that will be chosen for rebuild that they will not continue in the current building. They will attend school in a closed school, church basement, etc.

It has to be about the BIG picture. It is holding our BOE accountable to make a decision based on good data, facts, and in keeping with how people in Lakewood live, or how we want to live.

Kristine