Parents: Salem Schools Didn't Ask Our Opinion On Bowditch Closing

SALEM, MA -- Parents reacted mostly negatively to the Salem School System's plan to close the Nathaniel Bowditch School Monday night. At the first school committee meeting on the proposed closing, Superintendent Margarita Ruiz outlined the rationale and details of her plan -- a plan that some parents argued did not include their input.

The school system "brought us an F. We need to save Bowditch — and we're going to fight together to not close the Bowditch," Salem resident Yoleny Ynoa told the school committee. According to the Salem News, which first reported this story, most speakers had mixed reactions to the proposal or opposed the proposal.

Under the plan, Bowditch's sixth, seventh and eight graders would move to the Collins Middle School next year. School district staff would work with families to place Bowditch elementary students in new schools. The school building would become the new home of the Horace Mann Labortory School, which is currently located in what Mayor Kim Driscoll described as a "substandard" facility on the campus of Salem State University.

Throughout the process, Ruiz has said the decision is part of an effort to "end segregation" at the school, which has a large percentage of Hispanic students and low-income families. The school has consistently failed to meet state performance goals. In a press release Thursday, the school district elaborated on those comments, noting the city had fallen short in its efforts to implement a 2013 plan to improve performance at the school. Under that plan, students in the Sheltered Immersion program were transferred to Bowditch, where they were to have received additional support for students who were learning English.

"Why is it the Bowditch community that always pays the price for every mistake you've made in the past 10, 12 years?" Fawaz Abusharkh said. "I know why — because Bowditch is always going to be the name to put them to shame for 8 to 10 years. It's sad, sad, sad that after the election, something like this happens."

City officials have mostly supported the plan. In addition to Driscoll, Ward 5 Councilor Josh Turiel said in a Facebook post last month that the move, if done right, is likely to improve outcomes for Salem students. At Monday night's meeting, City Councilor-at-large Tom Furey spoke in favor of the plan as well.

"The danger would be to do nothing — to defer, delay, debate the future of these two schools named after pioneers who knew the role of education and risk," Furey said. The school committee has scheduled a forum for Feb. 12 at 6:30 pm in its chambers on the subject, which may be the last time the public can offer input on the proposal before the school committee takes action.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).