I haven't written for a while. And to those that do follow my site and pay attention, I apologize for that. My reasons for having no creative output have been many.
I have spent the past few months going through a job change and waffling between the realms of fiction and non-fiction, trying to settle on a plantation of imagination in which to thoroughly engage myself in. And, of course, as soon as I was ready to settle . . . . . BOOM!
Last Thursday our children came home from school (John Diemer Elementary) with a letter in their backpacks from the Superintendent, Dr. Gene Johnson. Dr. Johnson had informed us--through a stream of jargon so alarmist you would have thought he got his playbook from the "shock and awe" methodology--that the school's HVAC system had undergone an extensive failure and the school would have to be shut down. That's right . . . shut down! The plan would be to merge the children into another elementary school (Trailwood) that was already at 80% capacity by the Fall. The only other option, according to Dr. Johnson, was to fix the system estimated at $200,000, which (according to the tone of the letter) could be unlikely due to time contraints, age of the building, etc.
I was pretty upset, to say the least. To be perfectly honest, one of my children thrives in the tiny, tiny classroom sizes at Diemer: already having a enough trouble maintaining academically as-is, merging with Trailwood Elementary would have made it the largest elementary school in the Shawnee Mission School District and my child would have drowned! So, I had a personal agenda! Not to mention that Diemer is right in the middle of the neighborhood; no major roads connect to it, so it is easy to walk our children to and from school without having to worry about heavy traffic. Furthermore, our neighborhood is already being wracked by closed store-fronts, empty lots, a declining economy that is just waiting to collapse from negligence. I feel like if I need to explain the intricacies of a closed school's impact on an already failing economy (proptery values, etc.) then you probably don't deserve to even vote. It's not a partisan or political issue. It's a socio-enomic issue.
So, my wife and I went on a walk. And when Rae Anna and I go on walks, usually magic happens. Things come out of it.
We weren't going to let this happen!
Within five minutes of getting home, Rae Anna had created a Facebook Group page, "Save Diemer," and I had contacted a few parents at Diemer to network for the oncoming reisistance. By the next day, we had news crews at our house, hundreds of fliers passed out all over neighborhood, and over half the school ready to volunteer for the cause.
We had a weekend to prepare. On the following Monday, the Board of Education and Superintendent wanted to host a townhall-style meeting to explain their reasoning for the possible shutdown/merger, as well as receive community feedback. We all came together in solidarity (not just Diemer but also Trailwood parents) and did our research on the District's budget, brought awareness to the entire community, and developed a specific and unified response to request the Board to vote in favor of spending the necessary funds to fix Diermer's HVAC system and keep the school open. We organized a peaceful demontration walk from our school to the location of the meeting, as well as getting professionally made signs quoting "Save Diemer," on top of all that. All within a weekend.
And the result? The Board had no choice (in a gym full of over 600 passionate, unified tax payers) to commit to fixing the school and keeping it open. Let no man or woman ever question the quote from cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
But the real struggle now begins. The Board never voted. And in our recent past the same Board made the same public promise to keep the Nall Hills school open, but then secretly voted to close it, causing an economic disaster for our community. We have to keep our eyes on the District; additionally, keeping everyone's interest, attention, and dedication on the matter will prove to be the biggest challenge yet.
I do want to recognize the core group of parents that MADE this happen: Rae Anna Moler, Juan Heath, Stephanie and Ben Clayton, Mark Reed, Jim and Michelle Pointer, Darian Dusin, Carmen VanBooven, Michael Owens, Gavin Fritton, Lisa Coleman, and many, many more! I applaud all of you for your leadership, your tenacity, and your heart! It is the greatest high not watching, but being a part of a community coming together to save itself from destruction. It is my hope the energy can continue and we can start taking charge of forming our own future, instead of leaving it in the hands of disconnected politicians with money on the mind.
I have spent the past few months going through a job change and waffling between the realms of fiction and non-fiction, trying to settle on a plantation of imagination in which to thoroughly engage myself in. And, of course, as soon as I was ready to settle . . . . . BOOM!
Last Thursday our children came home from school (John Diemer Elementary) with a letter in their backpacks from the Superintendent, Dr. Gene Johnson. Dr. Johnson had informed us--through a stream of jargon so alarmist you would have thought he got his playbook from the "shock and awe" methodology--that the school's HVAC system had undergone an extensive failure and the school would have to be shut down. That's right . . . shut down! The plan would be to merge the children into another elementary school (Trailwood) that was already at 80% capacity by the Fall. The only other option, according to Dr. Johnson, was to fix the system estimated at $200,000, which (according to the tone of the letter) could be unlikely due to time contraints, age of the building, etc.
I was pretty upset, to say the least. To be perfectly honest, one of my children thrives in the tiny, tiny classroom sizes at Diemer: already having a enough trouble maintaining academically as-is, merging with Trailwood Elementary would have made it the largest elementary school in the Shawnee Mission School District and my child would have drowned! So, I had a personal agenda! Not to mention that Diemer is right in the middle of the neighborhood; no major roads connect to it, so it is easy to walk our children to and from school without having to worry about heavy traffic. Furthermore, our neighborhood is already being wracked by closed store-fronts, empty lots, a declining economy that is just waiting to collapse from negligence. I feel like if I need to explain the intricacies of a closed school's impact on an already failing economy (proptery values, etc.) then you probably don't deserve to even vote. It's not a partisan or political issue. It's a socio-enomic issue.
So, my wife and I went on a walk. And when Rae Anna and I go on walks, usually magic happens. Things come out of it.
We weren't going to let this happen!
Within five minutes of getting home, Rae Anna had created a Facebook Group page, "Save Diemer," and I had contacted a few parents at Diemer to network for the oncoming reisistance. By the next day, we had news crews at our house, hundreds of fliers passed out all over neighborhood, and over half the school ready to volunteer for the cause.
We had a weekend to prepare. On the following Monday, the Board of Education and Superintendent wanted to host a townhall-style meeting to explain their reasoning for the possible shutdown/merger, as well as receive community feedback. We all came together in solidarity (not just Diemer but also Trailwood parents) and did our research on the District's budget, brought awareness to the entire community, and developed a specific and unified response to request the Board to vote in favor of spending the necessary funds to fix Diermer's HVAC system and keep the school open. We organized a peaceful demontration walk from our school to the location of the meeting, as well as getting professionally made signs quoting "Save Diemer," on top of all that. All within a weekend.
And the result? The Board had no choice (in a gym full of over 600 passionate, unified tax payers) to commit to fixing the school and keeping it open. Let no man or woman ever question the quote from cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
But the real struggle now begins. The Board never voted. And in our recent past the same Board made the same public promise to keep the Nall Hills school open, but then secretly voted to close it, causing an economic disaster for our community. We have to keep our eyes on the District; additionally, keeping everyone's interest, attention, and dedication on the matter will prove to be the biggest challenge yet.
I do want to recognize the core group of parents that MADE this happen: Rae Anna Moler, Juan Heath, Stephanie and Ben Clayton, Mark Reed, Jim and Michelle Pointer, Darian Dusin, Carmen VanBooven, Michael Owens, Gavin Fritton, Lisa Coleman, and many, many more! I applaud all of you for your leadership, your tenacity, and your heart! It is the greatest high not watching, but being a part of a community coming together to save itself from destruction. It is my hope the energy can continue and we can start taking charge of forming our own future, instead of leaving it in the hands of disconnected politicians with money on the mind.
Grrrrr.....
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