Parents react to possible city elementary school closure

I say do not pit 5th grade in middle school level. Now with that said,Theseelementary schools are outdated. to some it would make sense to remodel the school,but if so why not rebuild. they say 5 milliion now but by the time all said and done it doubles. never fails. I say let it become another charter,school then they pay the costs.

If you really want those kids to succeed, get them out of the city!

Davis is a wonderful school with a staff that cares. There isn't a day that goes by the teachers at Davis don't go the extra mile. They raised over 5 thousand dollars last year for local families in need. They stay after school (without pay) to extend the school day for thier kids. Our kids are succeeding. Look at the special education test scores (pssa) they made AYP last school year! It may be about money to some, but to the family members of Davis, it has always been about our kids. Support your schools!

I have to see a school close. And worse yet have 5th graders in middles school. It's bad enough the 6th graders that don't belong there are in middle school. Keep in mind that Davis is a York City School but is no within the city limits.

I went to Davis.....I worked at Davis....to close this would be a shame. Solid is the construction...Remodel it and use it.

A teacher wrote:

Davis is a wonderful school with a staff that cares. There isn't a day that goes by the teachers at Davis don't go the extra mile. They raised over 5 thousand dollars last year for local families in need. They stay after school (without pay) to extend the school day for thier kids. Our kids are succeeding. Look at the special education test scores (pssa) they made AYP last school year! It may be about money to some, but to the family members of Davis, it has always been about our kids. Support your schools!

I totally agree with you. You dont have as many parents involved at other schools as you do Davis. Im glad this is my boys'last year there but I really feel for the students and the AMAZING STAFF there. Especially the learning support teachers because they have done a wonderful job with with my children. Its because of them and myself and the hard work of my children that they are som much better off in their education. Any school would be glad to have these teachers and would be extremely lucky to have such teachers that love the children like they were there own.

OH how sad to see Phineas Davis close. I was one of the last classes to come out of there when it was Phineas Davis Junior High. What fond memories I have of that old creaky auditorium. It once was a very beautiful auitorium. Why hasn't the district kept up on keeping that beautiful building in good condition? It would be ashame to see it closed and gone forever. I think it is well worth the money to invest to fix it up and continue usage as a school.Com e on community save Davis!! Diann Stotler Bishop C/O Davis Junior High School 1975

Putting 5th graders in middle school? BIG Mistake!! 6th graders do not belong in middle school. What happened to Elementary school being k-6.Junior high school being 7-9 and High school being 10-12? We need to take back to the good old days. I remember being the last 6th grade to comeout of A.D Goode School. These 5th graders are in no way ready for middle school.....nor are th graders. Why are we making our children grow up so fast....and one wonders how the littles ones know so much about sex and drugs??

Phineas Davis has always spoken volumes and provided an excellent education for the students living on the east end of York City. As a former parent and resident, the PTA, faculty and parents have always been involved in this school and the community. I truly feel for the children and residents of this city, the school board is solely focused on money which makes no sense at all.

Provide the necessary renovations to Phineas Davis, just as you have done for countless other schools with low results in York City. The money paid for the renovations to York High were a waste, the students could care less about their education. This is a historic school for so many and a large building which is able to accomodate the vast numbers of students.

It would be a waste of time to move 5th grade students into your middle schools or to move the current Davis students to different elementary schools out of their respective zone/area. If you are going to renovate the other schools and still raise taxes, at least keep the children where they are and raise the taxes. You would be causing a great diservice to the parents by requiring them to drive their children to a school out of their way and also raise their taxes to renovate the new school. Learn to work with what you have and make sound decisions. It seems this school district (board) remains in a constant dilema.

Sad to say this but to the parents in this area, if you really care about the level of education your children receive I recommend moving out the district. You can pay low taxes for low level minded board members to keep making selfish decisions or you can take control of your child's education and MOVE!

Closing any school is bound to cause outcry from those it serves. It sounds as though the staff at Davis is wonderful and that it would be a shame to lose them as a group. Having said all that, the spending must stop! This school district is strangling the City of York. School taxes are out of hand with no end in sight. The number one reason that I hear from folks that want to get out of the city or that will not move into the city is the school system. I am city born and raised, city school educated and proud of it. However our schools are not near what they once were. I don't mind spending premium rates for premium schools but that isn't the case anymore. Perhaps the staff at Davis can be moved lock, stock and barrel to another school and work their magic there.

Moving 5th grade students to the middle school???? That is the craziest idea I've ever seriously heard.
Other districts are moving 6th graders down and this district wants to move 5th graders up ...
appalling.

Blame it on Tom F. He and his people voted to spend all that money for those rich admin to have that nice building they work in. And now they don't have any money to fix up Davis school.Don't even bother to blame Tom F, you should blame yourself ,because you keep voting that clown in.

I went to school there back in the mid to late 80's before moving to Dover. I think that wasn't one of the nicest schools (even in Dover) and really enjoyed that school. My mom and most of my aunts went there when it was a middle school.
With the amount of wasted space that school had back then you would have thought that the school district would have made major renovations long before now. Also with all the land there that would be a great palce to renovate and add on to to get some of the kids out of the 'city' and into a safer atmosphere outside of the city. Some of the other schools are in some not so nice areas.
I'm sure they could work something out to get more kids transportation to that school.

Don't let them fool you when they say they will keep the 5th graders separate from the rest of the students. The schools only have one cafeteria, library, computer lab, gym........They will all use the same halls and bathrooms. This is a bad idea all round.

Here is what I think. I think the plan to relocate students to Ferguson was a decision that was made a long time ago and they are trying to pull the covers over alot of peoples eyes.
Have you seen how huge the new Ferguson building is? They spent HOW much money to save and improve Ferguson, but Davis doesn't deserve the same? Or will the the sale of Davis go towards the cost put out for the Ferguson project.
If people don't believe this is an old topic being discussed behind the tax payers taxes, well, let's just say that visine works wonders for blurry vision.

5th grade students walking from all over the city to and from the 2 middle schools rather than to their elementary schools means that younger students are on the city streets walking further and therefore are on the streets longer. Ferguson Elementary School has been renovated with an expanded capacity of 750 students, this school is at 525 N. Newberry Street the district has proposed that students that currently attend Goode and Devers elementary school walk to Ferguson Elementary School next year, this means that 1st through 4th grade students will be walking further and in some cases on streets that I as a grown man will not walk during certain hours of the day. 1st through 4th grade students from Davis will be walking further to Goode school. I believe that the security issues raised by these changes far outweigh the fiscal savings. I predict that this community will see a rise in gang activity among these younger students if the school district carries out it's proposed plan.

The location of the Roosevelt Early Learning Center is near the slated to be renovated Allen Field in a relatively safe neighborhood and pretty central to the proposed pre-k and kindergarten students that it will be serving and any increase in these classrooms can only be seen as a much needed boost to our school system. I do hope that serious consideration is given to providing some sort of transportation to these 4 and 5 year olds that will in some cases be asked to walk further.

Man in Black wrote:

Don't let them fool you when they say they will keep the 5th graders separate from the rest of the students. The schools only have one cafeteria, library, computer lab, gym........They will all use the same halls and bathrooms. This is a bad idea all round.

They will see a decrease in 5th grade enrollment as parents move their children to safer alternative classrooms in 5th grade rather than waiting until 6th grade as they do now. The city will lose some of it's best students to neighboring districts, to homeschooling and to charter schools as involved parents do what they feel is necessary to see that their children are provided with the best education possible. The YCSD may be weathering a Perfect Storm but rather than calling all hands on deck they are tossing our 5th graders overboard.

ICE: You say 5th graders will leave and go to a safer alternative. As far as I know, the safer alternatives do NOT offer transportation to their students. If a parent can drive their child to Lincoln, why can they not drive to one of the middle schools?

I have to tell you, I worked as Davis for several years and was one person who was walking students from Davis back into the city....those are not the safest walking conditions. At least if the students will be walking to Goode for example, they are walking where houses are and people are out.

I just have to trust that decisions will be made in the best interest for CHILDREN...we may not always like it but it usually turns out well in the end.

I do believe that a "school within a school" can work well. Yes, students may share a Library, cafe etc. but they would not be in there with students in other grade levels...they don't just dump them all together.

If you don't think it works, check out the Ferguson 4th and 5th graders. This is the 2nd year they are at Smith due to construction and these students are doing well. The Smith students have really settled this year and really don't pay Ferguson any mind.

Things can work and creating smaller grade level environments might just be the ticket.