Potrero Hill Parents take action
Today, Potrero Hill mothers Dena Fischer and Jennifer Betti sent out an e-mail to the 200+ members of the Potrero Hill Parents Association:
Dear Potero Parents,
Having begun the process to organize a community group to revitalize Daniel Webster Elementary School with the goal to make this a desirable and flourishing educational environment for the kids on the hill, Jennifer contacted Ms. Anderson, the principal, on Friday and was distressed to learn of a pending plan to close the school, merge the current students in with Starr King, and turn the site into a Continuation School, also known as Phoenix High School, which is a last chance program for at risk/troubled youth who have been unable to complete school elsewhere.
WE ARE OUTRAGED AT THIS DECEPTIVE PLAN AND WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. This plan was announced December 6th and will be voted on on January 10th. There is a school board meeting this Tuesday Night at 7 pm at. 555 Franklin St We have reserved two spots for speakers and we would like 5-10 additional supporters to voice our strong opposition to this plan. If you are unable to attend but would like your voice heard, we will be happy to read letters or emails of support for our position.
Since Ms Anderson started at Daniel Webster three years ago, test scores and enrollments have been on the rise. Please let her continue this valuable work in the right direction so that all of us with young children here on Potrero Hill can make our dream come true of sending our kids to a public school right here in our neighborhood. We believe that if the School Board sees that there is strong community support, as well as a large pool of parents of future students dedicated to getting involved in enriching and improving Daniel Webster, we can influence the Board’s decision and avoid this unfortunate closure.
We would like to add that for those of you who do not have elementary school age children or are not planning to send your kids to Daniel Webster, having a thriving and desirable public school in our neighborhood raises property values. It entices young families to move to and remain in the neighborhood and that’s good for our economy and our sense of community.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Betti (mom to Roman; 19 months) and Dena Fischer (mom to Sam &
Henry; 2 years)