THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603120104
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
The turmoil of change
Being the resident whom the faculty and staff of Hardy Elementary School was referring to in the Feb. 28 issue of The Citizen, I would like to have the opportunity to clarify the statement I made at the February School Board meeting.
The issue of rezoning Carrollton Elementary School has become a significant concern among our families. Although we recognize the basic need to relieve overcrowded conditions within the Isle of Wight County educational facilities, we believe the plan presented at the February meeting regarding the realignment of the Waterford Oaks subdivision is inappropriate.
I am the parent of a 6-year-old first-grade student who has already endured a painful transition associated with the relocation of our residence. We, like many other families in our area, spent the best part of a year searching for a new home located within a community that would make a positive contribution to the growth and development of our families. We feel we have found that in Waterford Oaks and Carrollton Elementary. We felt then and still feel that Hardy Elementary has nothing to offer that will positively impact our children's lives greater than Carrollton Elementary.
The point is, neither school offers any substantial difference in the value of their educational standards because they are of the same system. Therefore, our children will receive nothing more at Hardy than they already have at Carrollton. What is at risk here is their emotional stability. As parents, each of us has the responsibility for being aware of the psychological and emotional needs of our children, and to encourage adversity by supporting the proposed rezoning plan of our children would be immoral.
Most of our children have come from different regional areas. They have been faced with unfamiliar surroundings and have just recently become comfortable with the school they are attending. Many of our children have already lost forever what was once their home, their friends and a school administration they cared for.
No one has made any statement saying our children are too good to attend Hardy Elementary. We as a community support the school system. After all, over 90 percent of our children are in attendance at Carrollton Elementary, which is also a product of the Isle of Wight County school system.
While the statement I made drew your attention, I am the one who is truly offended. My child is being subjected to an unnecessary change I will not support. The emotional needs of our children far outweigh any need to relieve minor overcrowding, which, by the way, will not be solved with the move of 75 children. The temporary patchwork being performed is not acceptable. There needs to be a permanent solution put into action, and it needs to be done now.
The Hardy faculty and staff said, as the saying goes, ``Before you judge a book by its cover, check out all the pages.'' There is another saying that goes, ``Don't judge a man by the shoes he is wearing until you first walk a mile in his shoes.'' I invite each of you to walk a mile in our children's shoes. Then and only then will you understand why we oppose them being moved.
Imagine 75 members of your faculty and staff being moved from Hardy to Windsor. Each of you are new to the area and have just recently become comfortable with the administration you are working for. Each of you will teach and perform the same duties you currently have, but you no longer personally recognize any of the administration. The comfortable environment you once had is now gone. You must leave home a half-hour earlier than before the move, and now you arrive home a half-hour later. You will not receive any extra compensation or additional benefits.
Will each of you welcome the change with open arms? No, you will not. Will your members have mixed emotions caused by the move? Of course they will, and we're speaking of well-educated adult professionals being moved within the same school system.
In closing, I would like to say we are a caring community, and each family has brought with them the gift of friendship and the respect for one another. We are our children's voice and, without us, they won't be heard.
Randy Wilkins
Buckingham Way
Smithfield by CNB