Distressed Parent from Ross Pleads for Community

Ross Elementary - Image Source - Abbotsford School District Website

Anonymous Submission - I'm not the best person with words, but I want you to know that myself my children and so many other families who attend our rural schools are not happy and do not agree with making these schools K-5. My girls have attended Ross Elementary since K. One is now in grade 5 and one in grade 3. I lost my husband and my girls father a few years ago. 

Life has been hard since but our school has been part of our family and support system. We are all like family there. All the children and parents support each other and help when ever we can. My oldest daughter suffers from anxiety but when she's at school she does amazing because and only because of the amazing support systems we have in our schools.

They are not just a number at our school they are part of a family. It would very hard for my daughter to go to a school that's so big loud and offers no consistency. She does well and thrives in the environment she's in now.

​We each choose what we know is best for our children. Being at Ross elementary till grade 7 is what's best for my daughter's future. Our catchment right now is Eugene Reimer but we will not be attending that school. I will either home school my children or choose private school.

Thank you for reading my letter I hope it helps you realize how important these little schools are to our children and our families. I know if one of you deciding our schools fate had children at these rural schools you would totally understand where we are coming from and not try to change what works for families. It's not just a school it's our little community.

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Parents of the Abbotsford School District are upset about a move by the Abbotsford School Board when they brought forward a proposed reconfiguration plan for all remaining K-7 rural community schools in November 2015. The proposal is being expedited by the school board leaving parents rushed into a decision to leave the district entirely from Mt Lehman, Bradner, Aberdeen, Ross, Barrowtown and Upper Sumas schools or risk their children having to attend Eugene Reimer Middle School right beside Rick Hansen Secondary or the already over-capacity east Abbotsford middle schools. The grater majority of parents are withdrawing their children to cross-district in Langley, Chilliwack, private schools or home school because they do not want to send their children to end up in Middle Schools at all and want their right to choose what's best for their children and protect their communities. This plan includes 6 rural farm community schools in Abbotsford. If it goes through hundreds of parents have already enrolled their children elsewhere and will be forced to leave their communities instead of letting them be bussed ten's of kilometres to inner city schools with 600+ children.

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​We Need Your Help...

Join the Facebook group Save our K-7 Schools.

SIGN the ONLINE PETITION 

Please send LETTERS from yourselves, businesses or whomever from all of the communities affected! (the more letters the better) contact info below and spread the word about the meetings, POST SIGNS, lets get all demographics there from the all communities attending - the next  MEETING is:

Tuesday, January 26th, 7pm at Aberdeen Elementary

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016, consideration (Board decision) of the reconfiguration at their regular meeting at the DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION/SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE - 2790 Tims St, Abbotsford, BC V2T 4M7

​Please send all correspondence and letters to: 

Phil Anderson, Phil_Anderson@sd34.bc.ca
Freddy Latham, freddy_latham@sd34.bc.ca
Rhonda Pauls, rhonda_pauls@sd34.bc.ca34.bc.ca OR boardchair@sd34.bc.ca
Stan Petersen, stan_petersen@sd34.bc.ca
Preet Rai, preet_rai@sd34.bc.ca
Cindy Schafer, cindy_schafer@sd34.bc.ca
Shirley Wilson, shirley_wilson@sd34.bc.ca
Kevin Godden, Superintendent, Corissa_Stgeorge@sd34.bc.ca
Trustee, Kevin Godden, Superintendent’s assistant: Corissa_Stgeorge@sd34.bc.ca
Abbotsford School District Contacts can be found here.