Toquam School Pretty Much Dead

I have a couple of blogger friends whose kids go to school at Toquam Elementary. It's one of only four of Stamford's twenty schools that meets federal No Child Left Behind standards, yet it's the one school that Stamford chose to close to save money. Ya got me.

Toquam is a magnet school, which means kids apply for the program, and rather than going to their neighborhood school, they go to this magnet school. Magnet programs tend to be smaller, which is probably a factor in this magnet's success... and Stamford says the reason they're closing Toquam is because it's the smallest school. Yeah... that makes sense.

My friend Manager Mom wrote a post reacting to last night's meeting in which the board explained to Toquam parents how kids would be transitioned from Toquam into the new school being built down in the Cove. The Toquam parents I've heard from are more rational than you'd expect for people who aren't getting clear answers on what's happening and why. They seem OK with the school being closed as long as the focus is on what's best for kids and for all of Stamford schools.

However, the school board's plan does not address that focus at all, which to me completely ruins their credibility. Two problems:

1. The board has not addressed how this move relates to test scores. Does it matter that a successful school- one of only four in the entire district- is being dismantled? You don't have to be too smart to answer "yes" to that question, so why has the board not talked about it? It seems like they have no answers and no idea what they are doing.

2. The transition to the Cove school sounds messy. The Cove school is an environmental magnet, and kids will come not just from Stamford but from other area schools. The Toquam kids will still be part of the Toquam program, separate from the Cove program. Each year one Toquam grade will be phased out. So, after the current fifth graders move up to the middle school level, no new kindergarten grade will enter the Toquam program since their program is being phased out. Won't the Toquam kids feel isolated, not to mention the teachers, who will have very few colleagues in their program?

To me, it sounds like the school board is trying to slap together a solution to get people off its back. Why else would they come up with such a ridiculous, unrealistic transition plan? Unfortunately, it's going to be the Toquam kids and teachers who suffer through a crappy plan, and the Cove school that's going to have to figure out how to work two programs in one building.

The issue is complicated because it involves money, building resources, and all sorts of board members and finance committees and who knows what else. I wrote a long, informative post about this in January. My brain got so tired trying to understand all of the newspaper articles, but one of the main ideas I was left with after the research was Why would young couples, or anyone with young children, move to a city with a school system in total disarray and with no clear plan on how to improve? That's the one big thing that makes me think twice about buying a house here.

Visit the Toquam parents' site, Save Toquam, for more Advocate info. There's also a blog maintained by a parent that has articles and info.