Mt Lehman Parent Very Concerned

Mt Lehman Elementary - Image Source - Abbotsford School District Website

By Carryl Peters, 

Mt Lehman BC - I am a parent of Mt. Lehman Elementary and I will just start this letter with letting you know right off I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS PROPOSAL.  I sit here and wonder though, is this a proposal or just a strategy of a long term plan to do away with our rural schools?​

I have one son in grade 8 at Abby Middle, this is his first year.  I asked him a month into the school year how he felt with us (his father and I) deciding that he should wait and stay at Mt. Lehman until grade 8.  I worried that maybe we made a mistake, with all the programs that Abby has to offer maybe we had done a disservice to our son.  He looked at me and said, “You know mom, I am grateful that you kept me in Mt. Lehman.  I see now that if you had sent me in grade 6 I would have befriended anyone that would have shown any interest in being my friend, good or bad.  Now I know who I am and I know the kids and groups to stay away from.  I have no problem not being a part of a group.”  This to me is worth more than words can describe, to know that being at Mt. Lehman has taught my son self-confidence, leadership, discernment and self-worth.  
I understand that there are many families and children that have no concerns with attending middle school in grade 6.  My concern is that I and parents around me feel why should we not have the choice to keep our kids in the Elementary school setting while other parents have the choice to move their children on to middle school at grade 6 or 7.  I feel both schools of thought (no pun intended) should have a choice, not every child is ready for the middle school experience.  I would just like to know what the School Districts “end game is”? My children will not attend Eugene Reimer nor Rick Hanson EVER.  These schools are not on our radar.  I have friends whose children have attended both and felt it a good experience for their children.   On the other hand I have family members that had terrible experiences in both these schools and have warned us not to make the same mistake with our boys.  My son went on a tour and came home asking me not to send him to Eugene Reimer, he felt very uncomfortable in that school environment.

These rural schools are not just schools on some road somewhere, but these schools are an integral part of the communities they reside.  There are so many events and functions that our students are involved in within our community.  Mt. Lehman grade 7 students have the opportunity to be Ambassadors for our community, they speak at the first of July celebrations surrounded by our Mayor, Provincial and Federal Government representatives, this is an experience that one does not take lightly.  I don’t know, do the middle school students have the chance to sit beside Mr. Jati Sidhu, Mr. Mike DeJong or Mayor Braun? Our Mt. Lehman Elementary Ambassadors do, these Ambassadors open up our Annual Fall Fair (31st year this year).  I know that the Bradner students have the chance to be chosen May Day Princess and Prince, to represent their community at functions throughout the year.  The grade 6/7’s have leadership roles in the school, watching over the younger children, allowing them to aspire to be future leaders of the school.  Without the grade 6/7’s how do the younger children learn leadership skills? Who do they look up to?  My sons are 3rd generation at Mt. Lehman and we have other families that are fourth generation, these schools are important to our way of life.   I hope that when you attend the meeting this week at Mt. Lehman, concerning Bradner and Mt. Lehman, that you notice it is not just parents in the audience, that our community members have taken the time to be present to show how much these school mean to us.
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In reference to my question “What is the district’s end game?” and my statement  “is this a proposal or a strategy for a long term plan?”;  I had a past employee of the District tell me that these rural schools are not worth keeping up, they are starting to become too costly to repair, REALLY?? I can’t speak for all the rural schools but I believe that part of Mt. Lehman is considered a heritage building, what about government grants for upkeep? I also know first hand that our PAC is very active and would not let something like upkeep be a reason for closing our school.  
In conclusion, I am dumbfounded as to how the district thought that just putting out a letter in the middle of November 2015 telling us that the configuration of the grades were changing as of September 2016, would not produce this storm of controversy.  I just want to remind you, and I’m sure I don’t have to, that the trustees are elected, the rural areas are hefty tax payers; we may live in the country but we are not country bumpkins.
Yours respectfully, Carryl Peters, Mt. Lehman Elementary parent

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Help the Rural Schools in Abbotsford!

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 MEETINGS are:

TONIGHT - Tuesday, January 19th, 7pm at Upper Sumas Elementary 
Thursday, January 21st, 7pm at Mt. Lehman Elementary
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, [email protected]
Freddy Latham, [email protected]
Rhonda Pauls, [email protected] OR [email protected]
Stan Petersen, [email protected]
Preet Rai, [email protected]
Cindy Schafer, [email protected]
Shirley Wilson, [email protected]
Kevin Godden, Superintendent, [email protected]
Trustee, Kevin Godden, Superintendent’s assistant: [email protected]
Abbotsford School District Contacts can be found here.