Overall, members of Lake Highlands area PTAs say they are pleased with the attention RISD is paying to our neighborhood in the space needs plan. But most say RISD should have been more sensitive to other parts of the district, especially to parents at Greenwood Hills Elementary in the Pearce area.

Greenwood Hills parents were surprised when administrators proposed to use their school as the K-12 Christa McAuliffe Learning Center, which serves children with behavioral and learning problems. Under the proposal, which was abandoned by RISD administrators, Greenwood Hills children would have been divided into two nearby elementaries.

Sign up for our newsletter!

* indicates required

Currently located in a warehouse, the McAuliffe Center has been turning students away because of overcrowding, administrators say.

Here are additional comments from PTA representatives of our neighborhood schools.

AIKIN ELEMENTARY

Aikin parents are relieved their children will be staying in Lake Highlands schools, says PTA President Mike Fosheim. RISD was considering feeding Aikin children into Liberty Junior High and Berkner High School, but has decided against it.

“A lot of people in our community have developed ties to the Lake Highlands area,” Fosheim says. “Overall, we’re very happy.”

But Fosheim has some concerns.

While additional classrooms are welcome at Aikin, Fosheim says the district can’t overlook overcrowding in common areas, such as cafeterias, bathrooms and libraries.

Fosheim is also concerned about losing full-day kindergarten, which Aikin just started this year, to space-saving, half-day kindergarten programs.

Some low-income families have difficulty affording day-care programs, and their children benefit from spending more time with teachers at a young age, he says.

LAKE HIGHLANDS ELEMENTARY

“We certainly don’t have a lot to complain about,” says Diane Lowy, Lake Highlands Elementary PTA president. “I hate to see us lose full-day kindergarten because our kids have benefited from the program, but I understand everyone has to make some sacrifices.”

Lake Highlands Elementary will not receive additional classrooms, but Lowy says if the bond issue passes, she hopes money will be available for upgrading the school, which is the oldest in our neighborhood.

She’s also pleased that RISD will move three of the five developmentally special units at her school, which serve disabled children, to other elementaries, bringing students in these programs closer to their homes. Five units is too many for one school to handle, Lowy says.

MERRIMAN PARK ELEMENTARY

It’s time to take action, says Connie Baird, Merriman Park PTA president. Lake Highlands has waited long enough for overcrowding relief, she says.

“They (administrators) were fair to us,” Baird says. “Overall, I feel like the board has done a good job of looking at the entire district and planning for the future. They’re not going to please everybody.

“Lake Highlands did fare extremely well, as long as they stick with it. We need to get started as soon as possible.”

MOSS HAVEN ELEMENTARY

Parents at Moss Haven, which is slated to receive one of the largest additions in the district, are excited, says PTA President Kittie Ringer.

“Any time you receive an addition to your school, it’s a positive thing,” she says. “They (administrators) have done a good job looking at the overcrowding issue and have dealt with it the best they could.

“It’s really difficult when you look at all the issues and try to be fair.”

More space is better for teachers and students and enhances the learning environment, Ringer says.

NORTHLAKE ELEMENTARY

Northlake doesn’t just need space, says PTA President Sue Freshwater. It needs racial balance, says Freshwater, who feels administrators have neglected this issue at her school.

Freshwater hoped RISD would turn Northlake into a magnet school, but this option isn’t included in the current plan.

Administrators have told Freshwater that magnet schools can achieve racial balance, she says, by attracting students from throughout the district. Freshwater also thinks turning Northlake into a magnet could bring back homeowners who have turned to private schools. (85 percent of Northlake’s students live in apartments.)

Although disappointed, Freshwater says she is pleased that more funds are designated for Northlake, which has been identified by RISD as a “priority school.”

SKYVIEW ELEMENTARY

Skyview doesn’t want to lose ground, says PTA President Stacy Bell.

Skyview, which suffered severe overcrowding in the past, shrunk this year when about a third of its students were sent to the Math/Science/Technology and Classical magnet schools.

“I think magnet schools are good for the district,” Bell says. “They’re good PR. They give children opportunities and they give parents choice.”

Skyview parents were worried RISD would allow their school to grow overcrowded again, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen, Bell says.

“I’m just delighted that the school board is taking this very seriously,” Bell says.

Bell says she is worried, however, that adding classrooms to some Lake Highlands schools, such as Northlake, isn’t feasible due to lack of usable land.

“Skyview is lucky because we have so much land,” she says.

About the new junior high, Bell says it is more important that RISD relieve overcrowding than it is for parents to worry about potential changes in feeder patterns.

STULTS ROAD ELEMENTARY

“Everything has its pros and cons,” says Cheralyn L. Lane, Stults PTA president.

But one thing is certain, Lane says: Lake Highlands needs the extra classrooms and new schools proposed in RISD’s plan.

Lane is most concerned with how RISD will select students for the proposed magnet schools.

When the Math/Science/Technology and Classical magnets opened this fall to relieve overcrowding at Aikin and Skyview, enrollment was not open to the entire Lake Highlands area.

Lane says the magnets shouldn’t be limited to only a few attendance areas, but should provide opportunities for all Lake Highlands students.

WALLACE ELEMENTARY

“We’re delighted on this part of town,” says Jerilyn Auld, Wallace PTA president, “but I feel it should have been handled differently in other parts of the district.”

Auld says she attended the space needs public hearings and read the literature distributed by RISD. The closing of Greenwood Hills was never mentioned, she says.

“I have felt this whole process as far as encouraging public input has been wonderful, then, to hear about Greenwood Hills on the news, I can understand how they feel,” she says.

“I really hope people can come to a consensus and pass the bond. It takes more money to educate a changing population. I hope people can put aside their personal feelings and support what’s good for kids.”

WHITE ROCK ELEMENTARY

White Rock has been overcrowded for years and needs the additional classrooms proposed under the space needs plan, says last year’s PTA President Melanie Cowlishaw.

“Our area is rather fortunate because it’s not being shaken up like the other areas,” she says. “We have positive things happening here.”

Cowlishaw says her only complaint is that RISD didn’t address overcrowding sooner.

LAKE HIGHLANDS JUNIOR HIGH

“It’s hard to be critical of a plan when somebody is giving you something,” says Joan Walne, PTA president at Lake Highlands Junior High.

But Walne is disappointed with RISD’s handling of the Greenwood Hills situation, and she thinks administrators should have paid more attention to homeowners’ concerns in choosing a site for the proposed junior high.

“I think the school district needs to be more sensitive to the people it serves,” she says. “I do appreciate the responsiveness to the Lake Highlands community by the administration and the awareness of the problems in Lake Highlands.”

FOREST MEADOW JUNIOR HIGH

Lake Highlands’ cry for overcrowding relief has been heard, says Patti Winstanley, Forest Meadow PTA president.

The new junior high proposed by RISD is desperately needed, she says, wherever it sits.

“The district needs so many things, not just new buildings,” she says. “I hope people will look at the overall picture and vote on everything the bond election will provide.

“Change is hard to accept, but I think this district has good people, people who care.”