In September we learned that the Wake County Public School System was considering shifting our neighborhood’s school assignment away from nearby Enloe High School and to Millbrook High School. Millbrook is a great school, don’t get me wrong, it’s just much farther away than Enloe. What’s more, this was the sixth proposed or actual reassignment we’ve had since we’ve been here (six years). Hearing of the plans gave me whiplash.
Kelly and I worked to rally the neighborhood to advocate for our cause. We reached out on the mailing lists, explaining the situation and providing links to the resources so our neighbors could see for themselves. With a good understanding of the guiding principles of the reassignment (proximity, stability, operational efficiency, and student achievement), we suggested our neighbors politely point out how these points were not being supported by the change. A number of neighbors followed our lead, repeating the points we offered on the school system’s feedback site. We also suggested polite emails be sent to the board members. I heard back from some boardmembers that they had received quite a bit of feedback on the issue, which is a good sign.
Bottom line? The school system opted not to shift our neighborhood, we got what we wanted, and everything stayed civil.
I thought of this when I came across a friend’s Facebook post, showing how she was working to change her reassignment:
Can you provide a logical reason to shift all 119 current [Neighborhood] students out of [Preferred] elementary to a school that is farther away and on a different calendar? Remember, [Preferred Elementary School] was one of the schools that was converted to MYR and then converted back. You had so many parents fighting against MYR for so long that you created an administrative nightmare for the district. This will only continue as the majority will apply to traditional calendar schools and you’ll create more work for the district. [Neighborhood] has been the backbone of [Preferred Elementary School] for years and is the closest physical school as long as I have lived in the neighborhood (17 years). Please explain your reasonable justification. Overcrowding doesn’t work, now that other neighborhoods who were going to be shifted to [Preferred School] are no longer being shifted in this draft there are PLENTY OF SEATS.
See that? “Provide a logical reason…” “Administrative nightmare…” “Please explain your reasonable justification…” That sets a confrontational tone. Automatically the school system staff are painted as adversaries. This is the stick approach. Here’s more from other comments to this post:
[Fancy Neighborhoods] and that area have been handed what they asked for on a silver platter. Now their neighborhoods are safe and comfortable in their traditional spots. The “proposed new traditional middle school” will NOT be built and ready before MANY [Neighborhood] children are entering middle school. So, we will find ourselves FIGHTING for those coveted [Preferred Middle School] traditional spots. [Neighborhood] will get shut out of [Preferred Elementary School] and [Preferred Middle School] as they become more crowded.
This is the us-vs-them, it’s-not-fair argument. Again, a non-starter.
And another:
WHY ARE WE THE ONLY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE COUNTRY WITH THESE PROBLEMS?? STOP TELLING PEOPLE TO MOVE HERE!!!!
This person chose to move into one of the highest-growth areas of the Triangle and now blames the other people moving in? Bonus points for insulting the people that they need to persuade.
Here’s another:
I have yet to hear a logical reason why [Neighborhood’s] kids should be uprooted from [Preferred Elementary School] and shifted to another school farther from their community. Has anyone stopped to think what is best for these kids? We want to keep our kids at the school that they know within our own community. Providing this as an option and not a base is simply a false compromise. It’s clear that not all these kids, if any of them, can grandfather in to [Preferred Elementary School].
“Yet to hear a logical reason…” sounds a lot like talking down to staff. And “has anyone stopped to think what is best for kids” is also insulting to staff.
None of these have addressed the guiding principles mentioned above. They’re based on emotion, not facts. I fully understand these parents’ concern and emotion and I don’t blame them for wanting to advocate for their kids, it’s just that this is not the way to sway anybody.
There is a bright spot in the comments, however. One parent sets the right tone:
[Neighborhood] has a long tradition and largest attendance base for [Preferred Elementary School.] It is within safe walking and bike riding distance on town roads (no crossing under highways). [Neighborhood] parents, including myself, have deep volunteer involvement with the school. My wife and I designed and built the [Preferred Elementary School] website! My four oldest kids have attended there, and I hope my younger kids will go there as well.
Traditional calendar is very important to us as well. We will have kids in high school, middle school, and elementary school at the same time for many years to come (I have six boys!). So aligning [Preferred Elementary School] > [Preferred Middle School] > [Preferred High School] is extremely important for us to be able to manage the schedules in a way that doesn’t negatively affect our family and the boys’ education.
Please do not move [Neighborhood] to [Unwanted Elementary School.] We need to stay traditional, and we love [Preferred Elementary School] and [Preferred Middle School.]
The key to getting what you want is to advocate, not to complain. Certainly not to insult the decision-makers. In this case only this last comment hit the mark.
With my own recent advocacy experience coupled with having sat through many public hearings as a parks board member, I have considered offering a workshop locally to teach people the right way to advocate for their particular causes. It doesn’t matter whether your cause has merit if you shoot yourself in the foot before you even get started.