Dear Rick,I just read your outtake on the reason for poor leadership. You’ve made excellent points.
I didn’t like the closure of Woodham, but not for the reasons that other people did. I don’t like the middle schools that are being combined. These two or three schools are being combined after having had consecutive F years. One of the middle schools, Wedgewood, finally pulled their grade up to a B, yes, a B. Now these kids are being forced to go into a setting with schools that have low scores, or at least did. These kids have lost the will to pull their FCAT scores up. They don’t even give a rip about the FCAT this year. They’re figuring why bother? As the parent of a middle schooler, it’s tough to teach my daughter that even though her score will be combined now with the other schools, that she must have a high score. We’ve taught her team participation all her life and now she has no desire to be a team player when she feels she’s lost a battle.
That was the only reason why I was against the closure. And I will be one of those very upset if a few years down the road the school board votes to build a new high school or middle school, when there’ll be at least two vacant buildings sitting on good land. I understand the financial reasons why the school board closed Woodham, but I don’t like the choices. Here’s to hoping and praying I’m proven wrong.
Thank you for your time,
A Wedgewood Middle School Mom