LETTER: The Case For A New PreK To 5th School Building In Wilmington

Dear Editor,

We would like to invite our fellow Wilmington residents to email our board representatives or to come to the October 8th meeting Wilmington School Building Committee to demonstrate how important a new PreK-5 building is to the whole community.

On October 8th, the Wilmington School Building Committee will make a decision that will shape the future of schools in Wilmington. They will vote to choose one option that will move forward to address 3 of the 6 aged elementary schools, including the Wildwood (built in 1955), the Woburn Street School (built in 1963), and the Wildwood (built in 1955). These schools, all almost 70 years old, have significant deficiencies and needs.

The Parent/Guardian Advocates for Wilmington Schools (PAWS) Planning Team endorses a Pre-K to Grade 5 option to address all 3 of the aged schools that are in the scope for this project. We believe this is a generational opportunity to advance innovative and flexible learning spaces for the future and to highlight Wilmington’s ongoing commitment to education.

We support a New PreK-5 school building for the following reasons:

Community Support for a PreK-5 School:

• In community surveys & in the educational visioning sessions held last Fall, the New PreK-5 option has been consistently expressed as the preferred option

• Pre-K to 5th grade performs best on the building committee’s evaluation criteria, which included education, site, restriction community, sustainability, logistics, consolidation, and total time of the project.

• The school superintendent recommends the Pre-K to 5th grade option

• The school committee members endorse the Pre-K to 5th grade option

Academic Reasons for a PreK-5 School:

• Opportunity to change the footprint of learning experience to accommodate modern needs for learning, including infrastructure for STEM learning and specialist spaces

• Stronger alignment of curriculum and professional development

• Continuity between elementary grades where teachers know teachers in the same building

• Opportunities for mentorship and developing community across grade-levels

Financial Reasons for a PreK-5 School:

• The MSBA state grant will award tens of millions of dollars to offset the costs of this project. This is an extremely competitive grant and future projects are not guaranteed this opportunity.

• A K-3 option would not resolve the issues with the North Intermediate. One project to address Northside schools will be less expensive than multiple projects.

• Construction costs continue to escalate; delaying addressing the needs of these school buildings will cost taxpayers millions more.

Operational Reasons for a K-5 School:

• Fewer transitions for kids, parents and teachers – bussing, pick-up times,

• Limits the need for Specialists to drive between schools and increases time on learning

• Improved safety features to address fire, security etc.

• A/C = Avoid issues arising from heat that have caused school closures

• New building will not affect learning during construction

• Operating costs are expected to be more efficient – building and maintaining facilities for one building vs many

I hope that these facts will help residents heed our call to action and deliver a message for a new pre-K through 5th grade at the building committee meeting on October 8th, where the School Building Committee will decide which option that the town will move forward on.

Sincerely,

The PAWS Planning Team

Parent/Guardian Advocates for Wilmington Schools (PAWS) is a parent/guardian group that aims to increase understanding of Wilmington school district initiatives, encourage parent/guardian interaction and engagement, and facilitate two-way communication with the district leadership. To learn more about PAWS or to express interest in joining the planning team visit https://tinyurl.com/Wilmington-PAWS-FAQ