Fleetwood school must stay openClosure not an option

Allison Sowinski with daughters Haley, 6 (left) and Chantelle, 9, stand near the front door of Fleetwood Elementary School near 88 Avenue and 152 Street.

FILE PHOTO / THE LEADER

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I am a teacher at Fleetwood Elementary and I am very upset with the possible closure of our beloved school.

Closure of the school would be devastating to the community and families. At Fleetwood, every teacher knows every student. The staff genuinely cares about the families and vice versa. Our school’s sports teams are open to any child who wants to participate. We don’t have overcrowded classrooms. We have enough gym time for each class to go at least three times a week for 45 minutes. We have 20-year traditions such as our annual Pancake Breakfast which the entire community attends.

There will be educational and social consequences if Surrey begins shutting down smaller schools like Fleetwood. Mark my words: The crime rate will increase as these kids, who have been shoved into large schools functioning at 110 per cent capacity, start getting older. Inner-city children need to feel cared for. They need extra attention that an overcrowded school cannot provide.

The board gives many reasons for the closure but in my opinion, what they are not saying is that it comes down to money. Money at the expense of the inner-city community. The school is on prime real estate and that’s no coincidence.

If you are a Surrey parent reading this, you need to care about this: Your child’s school could be next.

E. Tjart

Re: “Fight on to save school,” The Leader, Jan. 11.

I held the position of past chair of Fleetwood Elementary PAC and played a part in the original fight to keep the school open. The board gave us five years and the enrolment numbers did not decline.We maintained enrolment and we continue to have parents registering their children even though the doors might be closing in 2009.

The children in this community deserve the right to have a school in their neighbourhood. The new parents deserve an opportunity to voice their concerns to the new board. It has come to our attention that the board and school board staff have not been forthcoming with information, they are leaving parents in the dark. There are decisions being made in regards to changing the boundaries and Fleetwood parents are not being consulted and more importantly, the surrounding schools parents have not been consulted.

The board and this government have already made up their minds. In order to get funding they have to make sure the surrounding schools are “busting at the seams” so that they can build a new school in another community. So, the long and short of it is the education of our children will be sacrificed to help another community get a new school.

This needs to stop, as a community we need to stick together and let this board and government know that closing a school should never be an option.

Dolores Casellato