School Boundary Changes threaten East Legacies

A small learning environment is always the best. That’s what my eighth grade English teacher preached to us at Mission Valley. She told us that when we went to high school, we would feel lost and confused, desperately searching for help.

I remember thinking that my class was big enough with 200 students, and I couldn’t believe that it would be doubled when I became a Lancer. Looking back, the transition to East was smooth because our classes had gradually grew ever since leaving the elementary level. But with the proposed district boundary change of Brookwood to the South area and my sister getting ready to graduate from the sixth grade, I now fear that she will not receive the great education I received from the district.

The proposed district boundary change would also require people who live in the area to transfer to SM East, has sparked debate amongst families throughout my 103rd St. and Mission neighborhood, right next to Brookwood. Many parents in the area are graduates of East and moved their families to my neighborhood for one specific reason–to attend Shawnee Mission East. My family had always been intertwined with East, and it was expected that my siblings and I would carry on the family name at East. My grandmother taught art at East for eight years, my mom attended East from 1983-86 and my uncle graduated in ‘89. When my mom married my dad, she had only one requirement for their first house–it had to be in the East area.

While, I will most likely be able to transfer to East and stay here for my senior year, my siblings will most likely be sent to Indian Woods. While this is sad because my siblings have become very involved in East activities through things such as basketball and soccer camps, I have a much greater concern.

With the proposed closing of Mission Valley, my sister’s sixth grade class of 36 kids would be entering Indian Woods with 370 other seventh-graders, over twice the number of students I had to get through to get to class my eighth-grade year. The gradual transition of increasing class sizes by 150-200 kids, the system I had grown up with, would be no more. My sister’s seventh-grade class would end up being the same class that she graduates with. If many of her friends stayed with her, she would still have a good base to start of off, but many are planning to find an alternate learning experience than Indian Woods and South. Having that many kids together has both its pros and cons. Yes, the kids will become familiar with each other earlier, but at what cost. Will my sister’s teachers still know her strengths and weaknesses? Will they be able to connect with her and all of their other students individual. Will the school community be as connected as before? Probably not. This would be a new experience for these teachers too, and it cannot be expected that teachers will be able to help every individual.

To me this process seems rushed. I feel that my sister might get lost in mass of students during her years at Indian Woods, and would never be able to stand out as a individual. Being a shy girl, I think that this switch might overwhelm her.

I also feel like the district is throwing away a very good school in Mission Valley, a school I felt very comfortable in. In 2006-07, Mission Valley underwent $3.2 million in renovations and now these will be put to waste, as the district has stated that they don’t yet have a plan for the building. Under the current plan, Indian Hills would be forced to hold over 300 more students without any additions to the building of any kind, and they lack the size of other schools of similar populations, such as Westridge. While Indian Hills has one art room, a music room and four science rooms, the newer Westridge almost doubles that with four gyms, two art rooms, two music room, and seven science rooms. Also, Indian Hills would almost have to double their staff to equal that of Westridge’s and therefore, almost all teachers would lack homerooms, and a majority of their material would have to be stacked on a cart. They would need a large increase in teaching staff in order to educate the larger student body.

This situation is very similar to Indian Woods’, which scares both my parents and my sister and has led them to lean more towards the idea of going to a private school for the remainder of her schooling. They also believe that a smaller learning environment would be far more beneficial than the overcrowded and congested halls of either of the public middle schools. In our minds, the more one-on-one time with teachers, the better. When my parents and sister went to visit Barstow, they were impressed with the small class sessions and how the school took advantage of modern technology, with every child having a laptop.

The private schools would also benefit my sister because she has a love for singing and art, as well as sports. At a clustered Indian Hills it’s been projected by the district and the “Save Mission Valley” committee that only about half of the kids that enroll in an art class would be able to take it. My sister and parents do not like these odds and have been told by other parents that the arts are more supported at private schools such as Barstow.

The pivotal factor in my sister’s mind is sports though. With much of her class planning to disperse throughout schools in the area, through families moving, transferring and leaving for private schools, my sister has decided she wants to be her with best friends, her club soccer team. Her club team, is not based at Brookwood, and many of the players go to Barstow, so my sister thinks that this would be her best option, because she would know a solid group of people.

When I step back and look at the proposed changes in the district, such as the closing of Mission Valley, the boundary change of Brookwood and the proposed overcrowded middle schools I can see what the district is trying to achieve. By streamlining the process, the district potentially can reduce the costs and balances the enrollment across the district. But the method that the district is using seems flawed.

When I come home from school, and turn onto my street, I see signs saying “Don’t Compromise: Save Mission Valley” in almost every yard. I glance at young kids wearing shirts of protest walking home from Brookwood. I notice parents’ cars with words of disapproval written on their windows. The only way I see these parents being pleased with the district, is if the district allowed families to pick between the schools, which would be a ridiculous policy, because graduating classes would most likely go to the same school. Other than that, I really see no solution, that could satisfy both parties.

The flaw of the district’s plan is it lacks the support of the community being affected. But we will have to wait and see how serious the Brookwood parents are about transferring and leaving the district when the district votes on the change at the board meeting on Nov. 8.