Salem School Committee Backs Move To Close Bowditch School

SALEM, MA -- Jim Fleming was the only member of the Salem School Committee to oppose a controversial plan to close the Nathaniel Bowditch School at the end of this school year. The committee approved the proposal by Superintendent Margarita Ruiz by a vote of 6-1 Thursday night. Ruiz did not attend the meeting because of travel complications.

Under the plan, Bowditch's sixth, seventh and eight graders will move to the Collins Middle School next year. School district staff will work with families to place Bowditch elementary students in new schools. The school building would become the new home of the Horace Mann Laboratory 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 earlier this month, 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.

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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).