The plan could send kids aged pre-k through second grade to Childs and kids in third through sixth grades to Templeton.
(WFIU/WTIU file photo)
Since the Childs-Templeton merger was approved to reduce socioeconomic disparities, the Monroe County School Corporation has gone full steam ahead planning how the merger will work. Parents feel a mix of emotions about this upcoming change.
The plan could send kids aged pre-k through second grade to Childs and kids in third through sixth grades to Templeton.
Colleen Rose’s two children attend Templeton. She said she is excited about the socioeconomically diverse classrooms the merger will bring.
“When there's a concentration of poverty in classrooms, it makes it really difficult for kids to learn, for teachers to teach and for everybody to get what they need,” she said. “Having more balance in the classroom just creates a more stable learning environment.”
Rose’s kids will be in fifth and seventh grade next year, so transportation will not be a problem for her family. But she does think a more diverse classroom setting will benefit her kids.
Colleen Rose said the merger will allow students to interact with kids from different backgrounds. (Devan Ridgway)
“I want my kids to interact with people from all different walks of life,” she said.
This merger was long overdue, Rose said. She thinks promoting socioeconomic equity in the classroom will help kids learn and listen better.
“People will say ‘why now?’, and I would say, ‘why didn't we do it a long time ago?’” she said. “Redistricting takes a really long time, and what we hope to accomplish in redistricting, oftentimes can get really muddled down, through litigation, through the same kinds of concerns that were presented in this merger.”
Rose said she thinks more redistricting would make the elementary schools and high schools more socioeconomically balanced.
“It doesn't make sense to me to have segregated elementary schools that feed into relatively balanced high schools,” she said. “I would like to see the district put a lot of energy, thought, intentionality, into that process, knowing it's going to be hard. Knowing it's going to be painful, knowing that people are going to not be happy about potential decisions, but we need to make hard decisions if we're saying we're about equity.”
Going forward, Rose said MCCSC should increase communication with parents and make details of the merger clear and easily available.
“Just get folks in the same space,” she said. “I think that's my biggest concern is just: we need some time together. There's a lot of heat and tension around this merger, and it's happening one way or the other. So, let's all put in our best selves and become something new together.”
At the last school board meeting, Interim Superintendent Markay Winston announced that schools would be holding engagement meetings for parents, teachers and administrators to collect input and increase transparency.
At the last MCCSC school board meeting, Interim Superintendent Markay Winston discussed future plans to educate the public on the merger and how the corporation will move forward. (MCCSC)
“I think it’s really important for folks to understand where it says project scope, within scope, re level selection on transition planning, staffing, programming, transportation,” she said.
Childs’ parent Dani Raymond does plan to participate in the engagement meetings the corporation will be holding to collect public feedback but thinks there are still too many unknowns about the merger at this time, such as building capacity and school start times.
Child's parent Dani Raymond said she would like to learn more about how the district will address building capacity and transportation. (Devan Ridgway)
“I don't love how that decision ended up being made,” she said. “Ultimately, I feel like there were lots of missed opportunities for the community to be informed or have more information on how this could have worked towards equity.”
Raymond’s two daughters go to Childs. Lydia is starting first grade this year, and Nora will be in fourth. When the merger goes into effect for the 2025-26 school year, the girls will be going to different schools and possibly taking two different school buses, which isn’t very convenient for Raymond.
“It means that they will potentially be coming home at two different times,” she said. “They’ll be in two different buildings. If one of them gets sick, it means I potentially have to pick them both up from two different places.”
The district has yet to decide how transportation will work when parents could potentially have multiple children distributed between Childs and Templeton. (Devan Ridgway)
Raymond’s daughters aren’t happy about going to two separate schools, either.
“They're not overly excited about being in two different places. My youngest is obsessed with my oldest as little sisters tend to be,” she said. “As all kids are, they're a little nervous about change, but I think they're not freaked out. They know it's going to be okay at the end of the day.”
Nora and Lydia Raymond are posing for their last day of school last May. (Dani Raymond)
Raymond said she doesn’t think merging Childs and Templeton is the best way to go about addressing inequity throughout the entire corporation, but it’s a start. She thinks a district-wide redistricting would better reduce inequities.
“I am cautiously optimistic that this could be something that is good for our community if the merger is done right,” she said.
