The Rogers School District is in a hot water with some patrons.
District officials finally revealed proposed boundary changes this week. They are likely to be voted on in March.
You just know that anytime school districts have to think about balancing building enrollments, the stuff is going to hit the fan.
Rogers will open the brand spanking new Janie Darr Elementary School on the southwest side of town in August. The result: Some kids will have to change schools whether they are finished with that level of education or not.
For example, 122 students now attending Bonnie Grimes Elementary will be moved to Elza Tucker Elementary.
I really hate that those kids, and others like them, are being uprooted from teachers and students they know. Unfortunately, growth means things like that are going to happen.
I really hate some high-schoolers will be have to move unless they can find their own transportation to Rogers Heritage High. You shouldn’t have to change your allegiance part way through your high school career.
Officials have said they will allow students to remain at Rogers High School if they can provide their own transportation.
Believe it or not, not every high school student has a car and not every parent can deliver their kid to the school door. I know it doesn’t look that way at certain times of the day near the high schools, but trust me, it is.
By far, the largest number of people are upset that Westside Elementary School will no longer be a feeder school to Rogers High School. All those kiddos at Westside apparently had their hearts set on being Mounties instead of War Eagles.
I would bet that you pick any 6-year-old at random and they won’t know the difference between a Mountie and a War Eagle. Of course there is always the possibility they have an older sibling or a parent who drummed loyalty to the Mounties into their precious little heads.
The fact is, life is tough and you might as well learn that in elementary school.
I know that’s not a popular theory. I know people want to say the district is wrong and they should never, ever move kids, and if they have to, they should give everyone 10 years’ notice.
Please.
If you want that situation, you need to find a community with a little red schoolhouse, one room for all. A thriving city like Rogers ain’t the place for you. We are all about change — good and bad.
Unlike those aforementioned kids at Grimes who are changing schools, the Westside kids will remain in their elementary school. They don’t move until they go to middle school.
District officials have much to consider when drawing boundaries. Trying to equalize enrollment at schools is one thing. By doing so, they stop the move of kids after classes start each year.
Sadly, they must consider social indicators. It is too darn bad that everyone isn’t equal in income, but they aren’t, and income is often an indicator of learning skills. Poorer kids aren’t dumber. They just don’t always have the positive influences that kids from better-off homes do. This concerns parents because their children will move to schools with lower standardized test scores. It shouldn’t impact how well their child does; it should help equalize scores across all schools.
Lower grades do not necessarily reflect teachers’ skills. Parents and other adults who help children do homework and prepare for tests help improve test grades.
The changes aren’t final, district officials are quick to point out. I would say the likelihood of any major change from what is proposed is pretty slim.
Rather than raising a ruckus about the changes, parents would do their kids a favor by preparing them for it. Moving to a new school is, after all, a great adventure. Meeting new people, finding your way around a new building — all of it can be overwhelming or it can be presented as exciting experience like grownups have. And name me a kid who doesn’t want to be an adult. Silly kids.
I’m not being a cheerleader for the district. I just think parents make too big of a deal out of changing schools.
If they would expend half the energy volunteering in the school as some have raising Cain about moving their kids, well, think about what could be accomplished?
I’m saying those test scores would no longer be an issue.
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LEEANNA WALKER IS LOCAL EDITOR OF THE ROGERS MORNING NEWS AND THE SPRINGDALE MORNING NEWS. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER AT WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWALEEANNA