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Hepdog,

Actually, the point of my comments was the affect on all of our students. Of course your child is just as important as mine All of the junior highs are affected no matter which junior high was closed. Yes my daughter is the one on the longer bus trip to a different school, but the two remaining junior highs are going to be getting a large increase in students, and a cut in the number of teachers/administrators/staff. So all Warwick junior high students will be affected by overcrowding, lack of resources, and larger class sizes. All of these directly impact the quality of education. Beyond this, obviously if they close a junior high, the high school that it feeds into is going to be the next on the chopping block.

When they closed Rhodes and John Greene, our children were absorbed into the neighboring elementary schools. The cutting down from 3 to 2 junior highs is a significantly larger move, and is much more complicated process. Junior high and high school teachers are specialized in their fields, unlike most elementary teachers. The teachers have to be cut by teams, not individuals- your not going to have 5 math teachers and two science teachers. The testing stakes are also much higher. Graduation by proficiency is on the horizon once you move into junior high and high school. Our children's diplomas starting next year will depend on them being able to pass the new high-stakes standardized tests. A really bad, and unfair, time to blow up the system without any planning.

The capacity numbers presented by the committee were pure baloney. I have a friend that taught at Aldrich for decades, and that school has never had a student population the size that they claim can fit in that building. Even before the requirements for special ed rooms, computer labs, etc..., these buildings never held 1100 + people. Aldrich has the classroom space to fit 1100 students, in the same way my 6 room ranch has 7 bedrooms (counting the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and hall closet as bedrooms, of course).

Here's to both of our children, and all the others in Warwick being given a fair shake in this process.

From: Panel accepts plan to close Gorton Jr. High

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