Carson Rehm and his fourth-grade friends at DeWitt Clinton Elementary School had one more year to enjoy before taking on sixth grade together at North Park Middle School.
But while many of his friends will start fifth grade at Anna Merritt Elementary, Carson, 10, will go to Washington Hunt Elementary.
He's sad to be leaving the school and teachers he has known for five years.
"I'm going to miss my best friends," he said.
Many students in the Lockport School District are facing the same situation, after the Board of Education decided that it would close two elementary schools, DeWitt Clinton on North Adam Street and John E. Pound on High Street, at the end of this school year.
Johnathan Lang, 10, Carson's friend and fellow fourth-grader from DeWitt Clinton, will move to Anna Merritt in Newcastle the fall.
Parents of fourth-graders are particularly upset about the closings because their children are being separated from their friends just a year before the big move to middle school.
The School Board had little choice but to make the move. Enrollment has fallen in the district over the last decade, and the state has slashed aid by more than $4 million as it deals with a persistent budget crisis.
"I feel, at this time, we are still able to offer high-quality programs to our community," Superintendent Terry Ann Carbone said. "I don't know if that will continue next year if this [state aid] formula remains intact."
Carson and Johnathan and their mothers, Judy Rehm and Therese Lang, recently gathered around the Langs' kitchen counter to look through the DeWitt Clinton 2008-09 yearbook. The theme "Believe" is printed in big, bright letters across the front.
"The fourth-graders are the ones who have been together since kindergarten -- for five years," Lang said, "and now they're being "
"Towed away," Johnathan said, finishing his mother's sentence.
Rehm said that they found out on their own that Carson would be going to Washington Hunt, calling the district office before more information was provided during a board meeting in the spring.
Schools that will get new students in the fall have held open houses and invited families to tour the schools on their own during the summer.
Carson has made some friends from his new school playing baseball in recent weeks.
"Johnny's kind of on the lucky side because most [of his former schoolmates] are going to Anna Merritt," Lang said.
handbags-g 'It's a big deal'
Lang said that she understood why the district made its choices during a tough budget year but that it will be a hard adjustment for the children and families affected.
"These kids not only are being separated for their fifth-grade class, but they'll be separated for middle school," she said. "They won't meet up until high school."
Kathie Bruning will have four children at three new schools in the fall. Her son Izaac, 10, a fifth-grader at DeWitt Clinton, will move on to sixth grade at North Park. Victoria, 9, and Olivia, 6, will move from DeWitt Clinton to Anna Merritt. Her younger son, Daniel, 7, who was in a 12-1-1 class at John Pound, will move to Roy B. Kelley El
Other articles:
http://www.wedding-networks.com/blog/view/id_209/title_no-reason-to-stop-playing-if-i/
http://tonglihengji.com/bbsxp7b2/Blog.asp?BlogUserName=asdf&menu=ShowBlog&BlogID=644
