Young Enfield Resident Starts Petition to Save Elementary School

ENFIELD, CT — A proposal to shutter one of the town's K-2 elementary schools has prompted a young Enfield resident to start an online petition to save it.

Courtney-Lynn Rizzuto generated the petition, entitled Save Nathan Hale Elementary School from Closing, on www.change.org.

"[W]hen I started kindergarten at Nathan Hale, I instantly knew that I was right where I needed to be. Not only has Nathan Hale given me a wonderful education, this school has shaped me into the individual I am today," Rizzuto wrote on the cover page of the petition.

Rizzuto wrote the school community was there for her during the most difficult times.

"For most of my life, my mother has battled with cancer. When our family was struggling, do you know who was there to lend a helping hand? The entire Nathan Hale staff," she wrote.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, the petition had gathered 53 online supporters. Many have also left comments, including:

• "Nathan Hale School is an amazing place to learn, with teachers and staff who work as a team for the best of our kids. My daughter loves her school and the school spirit when you visit the school is always apparent. My older 2 kids went through the re districting of schools several years ago and it was a tough transition. With the possible closing of Nathan Hale, my daughter will be in 3 different schools in 3 years...personally, I think this is a lot of change and adjustment to put on these little kids. Is the money being saved worth the breaking up of several hundred kids school community and home away from home?"
• "I'm signing because my special needs kindergartner doesn't deserve to go through yet another transition before it's time to go to Parkman. I'm signing because I refuse to watch this community, grounded by some amazing teachers, disintegrate. I'm signing because the Hale community is worth more than 0.2% of the budget."
• "This is a wonderful school with excellent faculty. With the information that has been provided, closing Hale will solve nothing. There are too many questions about it. It's also very rushed. There has to be something else that can be done. Plus, we are voting on a referendum to put money into a school that they want to close. Keep the school."

Rizzuto said she intends to present the petition to the Enfield Board of Education.

"I'm not sure what this petition will do for this whole decision making process," she wrote. "I'm not even sure if this will impact the Board in any way at all. But I do know that we have to try."

Photo credit: Tim Jensen