Important School Board Meeting Nov 19

Next Tuesday November 19th is the DECISION MEETING on Teach School. WE NEED EVERYONE at the School Board Meeting!

Dr. Prater will make recommendations that the board will vote on Nov 19th. Unfortunately we will not see his recommendations until sometime on Friday. It is likely that Teach will move but the big questions that need to be answered are:

1. Will the campus move to a location where it can thrive, such as the Accelerated Learning Committee's suggestions #1 Old Pacheco or #2 Lizzie campus; or will it move to the Coast where its future is uncertain due to demographics and LOMS starting middle school in grade 6?

2. Will we regain the classroom that we lost last year due to overcrowding? will grades 4-6 remain?

3. Will the board spend the resources needed to move Teach in light of budget constraints?

4. What will this move look like and will the arrangements be acceptable? i.e. will we keep our digilab, library books etc. Remember Teach has not overgrown its space or reached its capacity but Bishops Peak has ballooned both through natural growth as well as open enrollment where 20% of current students are from outside the neighborhood. WE DID NOT CREATE THIS PROBLEM!  We are willing to relocate to secure Teach's future but not at the expense of our children.

It is important to remember that the school board making the decisions on the 19th is composed of the same board members who with few exceptions were against Teach. If the Teach community had not come out in full force last year we currently would be in the middle of a phase out and not looking at the real possibility of having our own campus. We have come a long way, let's finish this - not only for the benefit of our own children but for our community!

Please join us on the 19th and bring along family members and friends who support Teach and/or accelerated learning. The meeting will start at 6:00 and will be held on the Coast most likely at Del Mar Elementary or Los Osos Middle School. I will send out a follow up email once we have confirmation. In addition I will post Dr. Prater's recommendations as soon as they become available on the Save Teach School Facebook page and will also send out an email blast.

Here are actions you can take before the 19th:

Write a letter of support to the school board - here is a link to their email addresses, consider writing a letter to the Tribune and other media outlets, contact your friends and encourage them to come to the meeting and set up childcare and carpools.

Thank you for your support,

Helen Sipsas
Teach Boosters President