LETTERS

It’s about choosing what’s best for our children

Posted 6/2/15

An Open Letter To the Honorable Mayor Scott Avedisian Warwick City Council and Warwick School Committee:

On Saturday, May 2, the Pilgrim Patriots Football Booster Club held its first fundraiser of …

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LETTERS

It’s about choosing what’s best for our children

Posted

An Open Letter To the Honorable Mayor Scott Avedisian Warwick City Council and Warwick School Committee:

On Saturday, May 2, the Pilgrim Patriots Football Booster Club held its first fundraiser of 2015 to benefit Pilgrim Football. With the support of our members, neighbors, families and friends, the fundraiser was a success. We are grateful. That being said, the PPFBC has a long way to go in terms of securing adequate funding for the PHS football team, but we are up to the task and will continue to work on behalf of them, to ensure they receive what they need to have a safe and productive football season. 

We are also very pleased with the Warwick School Committee for agreeing to allow the PPFBC to seek funding for PHS Football through the sale of sponsor signs.

While the outpouring of support is humbling, it also raises the “specter” the lack of funding our schools receive for athletics as well as all extracurricular programs. Each year, the cost of operating these programs increases, while the amount of funds provided decreases. All of these “extracurricular” programs are important to the successful academic outcome of Students. It is a fact, that students who participate in extra-curricular school programs are likely to have better attendance rates, better grades, more confidence, as well as, leadership and teamwork skills. Also, these programs may be the reason an “at risk” student continues to attend school each day, when otherwise he or she may not. With the combined fundraising effort of non-profits such as PTOs, PTAs, and Athletic Booster Clubs, along with teachers, principals, coaches, and athletic directors, many of whom apply for grant money that targets specific programs, school-based extra-curricular programs are managing to stay afloat.

It is true, that textbooks and new technology are necessary for learning, it is also true that the condition of the school buildings matter, and do impact learning. It is also true, that the conditions of the athletic fields impact the school’s sports teams that need to use them. The fields must be made safe, not just for our students, but for the students from other cities and towns who must play on them. Our athletic fields could be a source of revenue, but they are not. None of our high schools can host a multi-school track meet, such as the ones hosted by Smithfield, Cumberland, and East Greenwich. Athletic events, such as a multi-school track meet, are moneymakers for the host school, and yet, none of our high schools can host one.

We have seen some real success this year with our athletic teams from Pilgrim, Vets and Toll Gate. We have arts, music and drama programs that are nothing short of amazing.  These programs survive solely because of the people I list in the second paragraph of this letter, they share in the vision that Extra-curricular programs matter, they are important, and they are vital to a child’s education. As you consider the 2015-2016 Warwick School budget, please consider increasing the funding for athletics, bring back funding for the arts in school, and return intramural sports to our junior high schools. The Warwick School Committee has a Herculean task when considering what programs to fund each year, and an even more difficult decision to make regarding the closure of schools.  Warwick City Council also must take on this task, as well as our Mayor. Consolidation is the only answer, as it was nearly two years ago, as it was 10 years ago. In the end, this isn’t about choosing one school over the other, it is about “choosing” our city’s children, and finding a way to ensure they have the best possible outcome, both academically and socially.

Jackie Harris-Connor

President,

PPFBC 

Comments

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  • JohnStark

    Ms. Harris-Connor: Your beef isn't with the mayor. And it certainly isn't with the taxpayers of Warwick, who are currently funding the school system to the tune of $18,000 per student. Rather, your beef should be with the school committee, who decides where all those dollars are allocated. More dollars are NOT needed. More thoughtful allocation is.

    Friday, June 5, 2015 Report this

  • jackiemama63

    You are correct, JohnStark. My letter was sent to all of Warwick's elected officials to politely implore them to get their collective heads out of their arses and do SOMETHING about consolidation. They all know who I am, they know I was on the LTFPC and helped formulate the original plan regarding school closures from 2011 until December 2013. This letter is not a "beef" at all, it's a request that the School Committee do their flipping job and that the City Council stays out of it..unless they wish to support it. The Mayor needs to be more vocal in relation to the needs of our Students, he needs to be bold and demand more from the WSC. Believe me, I know who is responsible for the deplorable and weakened state our schools are in.

    Friday, June 5, 2015 Report this