Earlier this week, school planning officials made alterations in their original proposal to reflect some of the early input from parents. Those changes include adjustments that would keep the Magill Elementary students in Snellville from transferring to Britt Elementary. But many Britt parents objected Thursday, saying that triggers a chain of events that keeps Britt attendance above the building's capacity, so some children will be forced to remain in trailers on the campus.
http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/parents-appeal-to-school-205762.html
Oh, people so hate those trailers! More on that at the bottom of this post...*
I thought at first it might be possible my child would need to switch schools with the redistricting plan. It turns out my son will not be affected, but my thought on the matter was that if it happened, we would deal with it. Britt, Magill, Norton...they're all good schools.
If kids need to change schools, there is an adjustment, but kids are smart and they can make the change. The AKS (Academic, Knowledge and Skills criteria) is the same, no matter what Gwinnett County School you child attends.
Kids are going to take the cue for how to deal with change from how they see their parents react. When my husband attended public schools in Savannah, he was bussed to different schools 3-4 times within a decade. He was bussed to a downtown Savannah school for "racial balancing," even though there was an elementary school at the end of his street! He dealt with it.
Complain if you feel you must, but realize the Gwinnett County School System is not asking parents and kids for a terrible sacrifice.
We all know Gwinnett County is in a budget crisis. Most of us are in a budget crisis. We think things are really bad. But if you happened to notice Veteran's Day slip by us, and remember what that's all about...we all have to make sacrifices sometimes - we aren't always going to get what we want. Sometimes we have to just accept. We'd all love life to be like it used to be. Hey, this is life during wartime. If this is the worst sacrifice you have to make, you are a blessed person!
Our sacrifices are nothing like our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had to make. Letting our children see that we can cope with disappointment and roll with the punches is something that can help build their character.
I'm all for people standing up for rights and trying to improve things, however [in my opinion] there's too much whining and complaining because things have gone sour. We're mad that our library's not open anymore on Sundays and Mondays. Libraries are being turned into computer labs. Now kids might have to change schools. (I hate to tell you that we are also probably going to receive another Gwinnett property tax bill!)
Bad stuff happens, and yes it stinks. It shouldn't have happened. But it's not like you are in a convoy in Afghanistan, hoping you don't get killed by an IED. Those are the people making the REAL sacrifices - our military and their families.
PS: *If your child does stay in a trailer, it's actually a good thing - because when viral illnesses run through a school, your child is less likely to become sick. During the day, the trailers are kept locked, and if bad weather is predicted, the kids go inside the main building. I've been inside several "portable classrooms" in trailers and they are quite nice!
Very well said Darla
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