Opponents of a Wu administration proposal to close or combine schools, including three in Dorchester, plan to hold a pair of rallies this week in hopes of influencing the Boston School Committee, which is expected to vote on the plan at its next meeting on Dec. 17.
The Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH) in Fields Corner, the Lee Academy Pilot School, and grades 9-12 at the Henderson Inclusion School – all in Dorchester – would close under the current proposal, which Wu and Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Mary Skipper announced on Nov. 17. Teachers and parents from the three schools joined with Another Course to College High School (ACC) in Hyde Park to scheduled a rally on Wednesday of this week outside the BPS offices in Roxbury’s Bolling Building.
“All four schools have come together to have a rally, and we have a good number of students and staff and alumni who are ready to fight for these schools,” said Ellayna Dietz, a math teacher at CASH.
The decisions come as student enrollment in BPS schools has dropped to an all-time low. In their announcement, Wu and Skipper noted that this second phase of closures is part of a consolidation process expected to continue for the next several years. Last year, three Dorchester schools and one South Boston high school with many Dorchester students closed, and in the previous year, the Lilla Frederick Middle School on Columbia Road closed – with plans to combine two closed elementary schools at that site.
Jasen Lambright, a parent of three children at the Lee Academy PreK-3 School, is one of those rallying to keep the school open. He said that parents were surprised at the announcement because it is popular and fully enrolled.
“It hits hard because this was a tight knit group of parents, teachers, and kids,” said Lambright, who notes that he still has a second grader there. “You mix that with this closure where we were told other things besides closure would happen…and then told it would close. There’s no guarantee I won’t move my kid to another school like the [Nathan] Hale that has similar building issues but is a great school – and it would close next year, too.”
The Lee, he said, has been “life changing for my kids. Grades are important, but it’s very much based on emotional intelligence too. It’s not always about who is the smartest but who can help each other out and hold each other up.”
The Henderson Inclusion School, with grades PreK-12 in two Dorchester buildings, is scheduled to have its high school (grades 9-12) shuttered while leaving PreK-8 intact. A transition program for ages 18-22 would also be eliminated. A group of parents, staff, and alumni have coined the slogan “Hands off the Henderson.”
Ellis Maynard, a Henderson alum who is now at Wentworth Institute of Technology, said he was disappointed for himself and two siblings who still attend the Croftland Avenue school’s upper grades.
Maynard said he’d struggled in other schools and was pushed aside because of bullying. After transferring to the Henderson in first grade, a reading specialist identified him correctly as dyslexic and autistic, something no one had previously noticed. He said the inclusion model at the Henderson is a stopgap for kids like himself to find success after being written off.
“After I met with that reading teacher, I flourished,” he said. “By the time I graduated I was taking AP English and that’s a point of pride for me because when I was young I couldn’t understand why anyone liked books. They seemed like just a bunch of pieces of paper with letters on them.”
He added: “I feel like the closure would be a massive loss for Dorchester because with the Henderson, it helps you figure out exactly what you need to really succeed.”
CASH teachers Lauren Machado, Nusy Hassan, and Devin Clark had a range of feelings the past two weeks – from surprise to sadness for students to frustration over disinvestment in Dorchester. But they said they are used to fighting for their school.
“The district is trying to pull out little things to make our school look bad,” said Hassan. “We’ve been fighting this forever. Other schools kick their students out, and well, they come to CASH. No, we’re not making doctors here but we’re taking those kids and making them into pretty amazing human beings doing great things.”
In addition to the multi-school rally on Wednesday this week (Dec. 3) at the Bolling Building in Roxbury, there will be a gathering outside the Henderson (18 Croftland Ave.) at 4:30 p.m. next Monday (Dec. 8), with a school community meeting following at 5:30 p.m.
