Weott Teacher Opposes Proposed Closure in Letter to the Editor
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Fall Carnival Poster [photo of student art from Humboldt Office of Education webpage]
Dear Ms. Bushnell, Ms. Fenske, Ms. Lindsay, Mr. Mulder, and Mr. O’Sullivan,
In response to Mr. O’Sullivan’s request, I am writing to provide the Board with the sources I cited at the restructuring meeting on Thursday, March 21st of this year. At the meeting I shared several studies outlining why it is critical to exhaust every possible alternative to closing Agnes J. Johnson Elementary School (Agnes J. Johnson), which serves not only as a school, but also as a flagship of the local community.
Several times, it was stated at the meeting that the Board wants facts, not opinions. Here you will find links to more than a hundred pages filled with facts. All support the premise that closing Agnes J. Johnson will have a multitude of far-reaching negative impacts and very few, if any, benefits.
I have included truncated citations with hyperlinks below in order to allow quick access to the relevant articles, and have enclosed a full bibliography with a summary of each source, as well, for more robust citations and more information on each citation.
1. When a school is closed, the students who have to relocate to a new school, even one of equal academic standing1, experience prolonged detrimental effects academically, socially/emotionally, and behaviorally. This information is derived from the following sources:
Valencia, Richard R. “School Closures and Policy Issues. Policy Paper No. 84-c3.” School of Education, Stanford University, Oct 1984 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED323040.pdf
MacDonald, John M. and Steinberg, Matthew P. “The Effects Of Closing Urban Schools on Students’ Academic and Behavioral Outcomes: Evidence From Philadelphia.” Economics of Education Review, Col. 69, 1 Apr. 2019, pp. 25-60. Deepdyve https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier/the-effects-of-closing-urban-schools-on-students-academic-and-Vc755zjaEa/1
1 Researchers Gail L. Sunderman and Alexander Payne, in their research review “Does Closing Schools Cause Educational Harm?” provide the only definition of “better schools” that I could find, despite many articles using this term. They define betters schools as: “schools that are higher performing (higher achievement and higher graduation rates), more integrated, both in terms of race and socioeconomic characteristics, and better resourced are important characteristics to consider when designating a receiving school. Students receive few benefits from transferring to a new school unless the new option is better than their current school.” This seems to be an appropriate definition. This article is not otherwise referenced here due to its redundancy to other sources, and the large focus on African American and Latinx students, which Agnes J. Johnson has very few of.
Gladson, Katherine. “School Closings” Challenges for Students, Communities, and Litigations.” American Bar Association, 03 Oct. 2016 https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/articles/2016/school- closings-challenges-for-students-communities-litigators/
Gaertner, Matthew, Kirshner, Ben, and Pozzoboni, Kristen. “Tracing Transitions” The Effect of High School Closure on Displaced Students.” Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 32, No. 3, Sept. 2010, pp. 407-425. Deepdyve https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/sage/tracing-transitions-bgJq7fARXl/1
“Developmental Assets.” Search Institute, 2019 https://www.search-institute.org/our-research/development-assets/
“40 Developmental Assets® for Children Grades K–3 (ages 5-9).” Search Institute, 2009 http://v.fastcdn.co/u/73824624/35782721-0-5-9-English25580191-.pdf
“40 Developmental Assets® for Middle Childhood (ages 8-12)” Search Institute, 2019
https://sde.ok.gov/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/Prev-40AssetsMC.pdf
2. Studies have also shown that school closures result in minimal, if any cost savings, and that if any money is saved, the savings will last only for a few years. Though there are few sources that discuss the financial impacts of school closures, the two below discuss this point.
Howley, C., Johnson, J., & Petrie, J. (2011). Consolidation of Schools and Districts: What the Research Says and What It Means. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/consolidation-schools-districts
Cohen, Rachel M. “School Closures: A Blunt Instrument: Shuttering ‘Failed Schools’ Can Have Painful Consequences for Children and Neighborhoods.” American Prospect Longform, 11 Apr. 2016 https://prospect.org/article/school-closures-blunt-instrument-0
3. Closing schools often has a detrimental impact on the surrounding community.
Bard, Joe, Gardener, Clark, and Wieland, Regi. “National Rural Education Association Report- Rural School Consolidation: History, Research Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations.” The Rural Educator, Vol. 27, No. 2, Win. 2006, pp. 40-48 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ783851.pdf
It should be noted that many of the sources fit in multiple categories, so I put each source in the section that seemed to fit the source best. However, do not be surprised to find many of the sources touching on several of the points.
In summary, research sources agree that unless a student is going to a significantly higher performing school (which is not the case with our District), there are negative impacts such as increased absences and suspensions, decreased test scores, increased student mobility (meaning students change schools more frequently), increased dropout rates, decreased graduation rates, fewer student connections (both to their peers and the adults at school), and students feeling less supported.
All of the articles examining school closure focused on under enrolled or underperforming schools, Agnes J. Johnson is neither. Enrollment is up, and our performance is equal to the rest of the district.
Several sources acknowledge the funding gap between what is expected and what is provided by the state and federal governments, however, they largely agree that school closures had deep impacts and little financial gain.
Research shows that students will do better if, and only if, their new school is significantly better than their current one. Redway and Agnes J. Johnson being equal means that the students will not do better at Redway, and conversely, they are likely to do worse.
Some sources are on Deepdyve, an online rental service for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. It is possible to sign up for a free two week trial to access the sources, I recommend that you do so.
In conclusion, assuming you have the best interests of the students, District, and community at the forefront, there can be no other finding than it is best for all concerned to keep Agnes J Johnson Elementary open.
Thank you for your consideration. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Josephine M. Finen
Resource and Educational SpecialistAnnotated Bibliography
Valencia, Richard R. “School Closures and Policy Issues. Policy Paper No. 84-c3.” School of Education, Stanford University, Oct 1984 https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED323040.pdf
There have been very few studies done on economics of school closings. This is one of the two that I found, and seems to be extremely relevant for several reasons. It states that schools should have 300 students or less (combining Agnes J. Johnson and Redway would be larger than this), and that small schools are beneficial to students because students must be involved in every aspect of the school.It further states that school closings are, at best, not helpful for school officials, teachers, parents, and students, and may be detrimental, particularly if there is not community support (and in this case, there does not appear to be community support).
Additionally, this article reports that there will likely be minor cost savings, if any, and that it is a better alternative to find other, possibly more creative solutions to budgetary problems. It also states that thinking ahead and in the long term for the district, it makes better sense, fiscally and educationally to retain schools. Although this source is from 1984, all of the information remains so relevant to today that if you only have time to read one article, this would be my recommendation.
Howley, C., Johnson, J., & Petrie, J. (2011). Consolidation of Schools and Districts: What the Research Says and What It Means. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/consolidation-schools-districts
This source digs into the long-term irreversible damage that occurs if school closure or district consolidation occurs and reinforces the point that closing schools are not cost effective. Research shows that smaller schools are often beneficial and impoverished regions in particular often benefit from smaller schools and district (although the area of Southern Humboldt is not impoverished, it is rural, which is often seen to be linked with fiscal difficulties, which is why I’m including this point here).
“Developmental Assets.” Search Institute, 2019 https://www.search-institute.org/our-research/development-assets/
“40 Developmental Assets® for Children Grades K–3 (ages 5-9).” Search Institute, 2009 http://v.fastcdn.co/u/73824624/35782721-0-5-9-English25580191-.pdf
“40 Developmental Assets® for Middle Childhood (ages 8-12)” Search Institute, 2019
https://sde.ok.gov/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/Prev-40AssetsMC.pdf
The Search Institute is an organization dedicated to helping children “become their best selves” and is interested in creating systems for children to thrive. These links are specific to the developmental assets for children that help them learn and grow. The first link is an overview of
what they are and why they are important, the next link examines what the developmental assets look like for a kindergarten through third grader, and the last link looks at the developmental assets for middle childhood (children ages eight through twelve).
Of the forty identified internal and external assets for child in kindergarten through third grade, Agnes J. Johnson Elementary meets or supports nineteen out of the twenty-one that are possible for the school (the other nineteen are home specific and cannot be met by any school). Of the forty identified for middle childhood, twenty-two of the assets are met or supported by Agnes Johnson, while fifteen of the forty are home specific. Closing Agnes J. Johnson would uproot the support system for these children and it would take more time to develop the assets they need in order to thrive.
Cohen, Rachel M. “School Closures: A Blunt Instrument: Shuttering ‘Failed Schools’ Can Have Painful Consequences for Children and Neighborhoods.” American Prospect Longform, 11 Apr. 2016 https://prospect.org/article/school-closures-blunt-instrument-0
This is a relatively short, well-founded, news article. It focuses on the problems that school closures cause local communities and has some interesting ideas about how to generate funding by bringing more of the community into using local schools. It also discusses the fact that closing schools often results in little to no budgetary savings or relief, as well as the needs of special education and early childhood learners. Lastly, this article states that “children also frequently encounter bullying and violence at their new schools, while teachers are often unprepared to handle the influx of new students.”
Furthermore, this article discusses student mobility and how one school closing often leads to students moving schools multiple times. Student mobility (as is discussed in several other articles) has been shown to have a clear negative affect on a student’s education.
Gladson, Katherine. “School Closings” Challenges for Students, Communities, and Litigations.” American Bar Association, 03 Oct. 2016 https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/articles/2016/school- closings-challenges-for-students-communities-litigators/
This article from the American Bar Association is a good, relatively succinct overview of school closures and the resulting impacts (practical, legal, etc.). This study says that students going to a significantly higher performing school will do better, otherwise it will have an adverse impact on students (Redway and Agnes J. Johnson are about equal in standing). This article also explores the educational harm to special education students, which is rarely discussed in other areas.
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?Wow that was a really good information morning read Kelley and thank you for the links that add more substance to the article.
Good research job!
It’s all about finances and you only state your opinion on that subject not facts .
It is a waste of money to have multiple facilities Spread across the map. The funding and resources will be better spent in one location and with one administration. Paying out for an entire administration and upkeep for the benefit of a few students is discriminatory against those who go to Redway. Everyone should be getting equal appropriation and resources from the state and that can’t happen if your over extending your funds to benefit a small group. Take all that excitement and enthusiasm and direct it to making Redway all those things you thought weott was . I still believe the only reason the school lasted so long was in grained employees watching out for their paychecks not trying to provide better education to the kids . They will benefit more from all the eggs in one basket . They should sell weott and put the funds into the district to improve it .
I understand your opinion, but I just wanted to point out that the author did include research on cost savings of school closings in this article here: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED323040.pdf
You are so wrong. What bothers me is the lack of lottery funding for our schools. What happened to all the lottery money supposed to help all schools? Who has taken it, and what is it being used for now? Democrats is what has happened to the money. And why should a kid be made to ride on buses for hours, when the parents need them for chores at home, and this also keeps them from their own projects, like 4H, and others. And then you want to over crowd Redway, causing more problems. And school boards think the kids are theirs, and not the parents. They only care about the ADA, nothing more. And if you ask too many questions at a board meeting, they want to arrest you. Perhaps the parents keeping the kids home for a week, all of them, would shake up the board. At some point, your evil Agenda 21 will come to light, and then there won’t be any schools, as we will all home school our kids, and defend our way of life from democrat progressives who think the UN is in charge. The UN is evil.
CA government took school money from the general fund so the lottery money is used for that instead. I think the school only got 1 yr of real lotto money extras until the gov took the general fund money. Borrow from peter to pay paul type of deal
Also, this article from the post also talks about finances: https://prospect.org/article/school-closures-blunt-instrument-0
I love this well-researched article. As a kid, my high school was closed and I can attest that it was a negative for me all around.
Has the district looked into “necessary small schools” grants?
??The article was great.
Grants? – zero. It’s not a financial crisis, it’s corruption. I’m not talking about the teachers.
JUST THE FACTS (from 2011)
ECS Superintendent’s Present Salary= $158,400 +Benefits (216 work days) (3 years)
A) Salary tied to media. (unified school districts with ADA between 2,500- 5,500 students).
B) Guaranteed State’s COLA.
C) 30 days of paid vacation per year with the ability to take 10 days in pay.
D) $600 per month car allowance.
E) $120 per month Data/Cell phone allowance.
F) $200 per month for Computer allowance.
G) $150 per month Tax Sheltered Annuity allowance.
H) $100 per month Term Life Insurance allowance with ECS receiving $25,000
of it if he dies.
I) 6% added to base pay Doctoral Stipend ($9,504)
Total of Salary+ Vacation Pay+ Allowances +Dr. Stipend=
$158,400 + $7,333 + $14,040 + $9,504 = $189,277
2) Unified School Districts spend on average 84% of budget on Employee Salaries and Benefits.
2017 Salaries for Humboldt County Office of Education
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2017/school-districts/humboldt/humboldt-county-office-of-education/
Unless you build a new school to be able to accommodate all the children — Redway will not work. I suggest you build a new school at the industrial park if your going to ax Agnes.
WTF? These clowns get $15,800 a month, and they cannot pay for their own cell phone? $600 car allowance? What about those who actually do the work, the teachers and the aids? I bet if these superintendents went away, the schools would do just fine without them, and we could spread the money saved, $189,000, among the teachers. What a bunch of shit. How unjust, how unfair. Now watch, some asshole is going to say these idiots work hard. No, they do not. The school board must be fired, and get some good reasonable people to redirect funds, and turn the superintendents position into a part time job, and NO perks. The children suffer, the teachers suffer, and the aides suffer at the hands of the board. Next meeting, people should storm the board, call for them to step down, and stop the suffering and hardships they are directly responsible for. Pull all the students out for a week, no ADA, no nothing. They are our kids, not the states. This commie state must change. And remember, our schools in this state are ranked 47th, and we are paying these clowns how much? For a failed education system they won’t fix? Or can’t, due to their ineptness? School board members suck, they are failures.
we need Agnes!! Redway is already too crowded!!
This is all That document says about finances . Inconclusive ! They admit most people didn’t gather any data . They only have info on 18 of the 35 that attempted … that’s admitting that a whole bunch of other people came up with a similar projection to save money and obviously didn’t need to calculate the savings because it was a no brainer. out of 35 they looked at 18 ! only 2 had added cost . The rest broke even or saved money . So odds are in the districts favor for saving money through consolidation of resources .
They closed one of the three major elementary schools in my home district years ago. Recently when I visited I was disturbed by the large amount of traffic near the remaining school and the distance that the children now have to travel to get to their school. It will be almost impossible to regain what was lost because the land is so valuable they will never build another elementary school there. Let’s not make the same mistake here. Small children really benefit from having a school close to their home. They develop a stronger sense of community and it is easier for the families to stay involved. Our community is so spread out geographically. It is really difficult if the only schoolmates your child plays with live an hours drive away. We need to invest in our young children. They will be here running the show when we retire so let’s give them the best start possible. SAVE AJJ
I hate to say, but I don’t think the author of the article is an actual teacher, as the title of the article states.
The author of the letter is an actual Special Education teacher at Weott’s Agnes J. Johnson School. I suspect the name at the top of the page, Kelley Lincoln is the person affiliated with RHBB who put the letter onto the web site.
Josephine M. Finen
Resource and Educational Specialist wrote the letter.
Kelley just posted the letter.
I don’t know that they’re doing it for the kids. It sounds like a cost cutting move to save the school district money. I went to both schools, one year at each one, about twenty-five years ago now. They were in pretty sad shape then.
I would have to agree with your statement. My child went to school at Agness many years ago too, and all I can remember is tons of head lice that I spent a fortune getting rid of because of other kids & the fact that no teacher taught my child to read. It wasn’t until we moved away that they finally learned to read. School has always been in desperate need of help, but that doesn’t mean you overcrowd them into other classes. Really sad, rural area’s always get hit the hardest.
The government could win the lottery and somehow claim they lost money collecting it. These are the same idiots that messed up a gas can and it’s a shock they can’t keep a school open?