ACS: Parents' involvement makes difference

June 01, 2009 09:14 am

— ANDERSON – Parents’ involvement in their children’s education can make difference. It might even save the kids’ school.
When the board of Anderson Community Schools this year considered a proposal to close Killbuck Elementary, Dave Lewis took it personally. His three adopted children, Michael, 12, and Farah and Sarah, both 11, had made a home and thrived at the school. They have been together as a family for about four years.
Lewis gathered petitions of more than 100 Killbuck parents who threatened to transfer their students to Daleville schools if Killbuck was closed. That helped spare the school for at least another year, though its future remains far from secure.
“It’s an awesome school,” said Michael, now in the fifth grade at East Side Middle School.
“I’ve been here the whole time, and I’m on the A/B honor roll,” Sarah said.
“Whevenver you don’t understand something, intead of being all grumpy they help you understand it,” Farrah said of the school’s techers. “I think it’d be really bad to have to leave Killbuck.”
Lewis traces efforts to close smaller schools such as Killbuck to the decision years ago to build large new schools such as Anderson, East Side and Erskine elementaries, all of which have opened since 2003.
“We didn’t need these Taj Mahals,” he said. “These little bricks and mortars are fine if you take care of them.”
ACS Superintendent Mikella Lowe said the larger schools offer economies of scale and flexibility to alter grade structures within schools to adjust with enrollment.
“That economy of scale is one way we can save dollars without raising class size,” Lowe said.
“You’re either going to have to look at at fewer elementaries or different grade configurations.”
Lewis said he’ll be back if ACS tries to close Killbuck again. “By next year I’ll have every student’s parent’s signature.”

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