An Open Letter to LCS, School Board, and City Council

Dear School Board Members,

I write on behalf of TC Miller Elementary School of Innovation.

As a board, you’ve said you want community input; you say you want us invested in LCS, yet our voices seem largely ignored. I appreciate those of you who are opposed to closing these schools. Please, hear me and the hundreds of others who are raising our voices for TCM to remain open. 

TC Miller is a beacon for what education should be. It is unique, irreplaceable. Because of its lottery system, kids from both the surrounding neighborhood and all over the city are blended together. Kids of all backgrounds, incomes, cultures, races. We’re small enough where students, staff, and parents know each other well. This is what brings students and parents here and KEEPS them at TCM (and LCS) over private school or other programs– the setting, the environment, the culture. That cannot be measured in data.

However, in looking at data, there are studies that show (linked below) that after massive public school closures in 2013, students who were displaced suffered in their testing scores, fell even further behind, and their math scores never rebounded, even years later. Not to mention the emotional trauma, which was significant. Additionally, the advertised savings that caused the boards to make the closing decisions never actually materialized.  

*This decision to close TCM and Dearington will not help our students nor our school system.*

If the LCS mission is the students, this decision does NOT serve the students. These students have had only a year to settle from the roller coaster of a pandemic; displacing them into other schools away from their community will be devastating to these children and their families. I understand the financial committee is looking at the fiscal needs, but a school system is more than a bottom line: it is our children.

In terms of bottom lines: the budget has a 7 million dollar deficient, yet millions are being allocated towards elementary renovations, including at Bass year-round. Take that 15 million, and allocate it towards keeping our schools open for the next two years until we can better understand the long-term, complex impacts that closing schools and re-zoning would have. Look at the schools in more depth and re-assess based on not only facilities, but programming. The logistics should be planned and organized, not a rushed decision for an unrealistic budget item. The school board needs to stand STRONG and united in doing the *right* thing, which means demanding more from City Council, not less, and certainly not closing community schools. If LCS claims to be about the students, they need to understand the deep impacts this would have on our TCM and Dearington students.

There is a reasonable compromise and/or future efforts that doesn’t involve closing our doors. As elected experts, think outside the box and determine a better solution. This is your job as a leader in the community.

Families need a smaller elementary K-5 option at LCS, and at 250 capacity, TC Miller offers a beautiful option for this. The invites to TCM have been limited in recent years by admin; we have more capacity and people want to come as evidenced by our ongoing waitlist. We can also increase the class size. TCM and LCS used to do a lot of outreach and open houses to recruit students. There is a need that we meet.

Closing these two schools wasn’t listed as a scenario; evidence isn’t supportive of doing both of these together and the survey results show a majority of families disagree with closing TC Miller.  In fact, 70% were in favor of option 1 which kept both schools open. Closing our doors shows $150,000 worth of consultants being ignored, as well as the time and effort of gathering community input for …no reason? And now, there is only one school board meeting the night of the vote where people can give their feedback, which is very hard for many of our families to make especially on such short notice. 

Additionally, why invest millions (15) in Bass Elementary which has a year-round program and limited interest. We need a viable, reasonable option for parents who want something unique. And how will we disperse the students from both schools throughout LCS by Fall of 2024, addressing their emotional, academic, transportation needs, etc? The mere logistics of this plan are lacking, and do not have the students’ interest and well-being at heart.

TCM may be old but it was described by the consultants as good bones – built like a tank. All schools need renovations. If repurposed, it’s going to still need repairs and maintenance as well. Let’s do those for our students who already call these walls home. 

To make a decision now, when the kids have had ONE normal year after COVID, fails to take into consideration the complexities we have yet to understand from the pandemic.

To make a decision on test scores fails to understand that test scores are lower where resources and income is lower (of course we are lower than Paul Monroe – most of these kids have two very educated parents, years of preschool, and other extreme advantages), and simply moving these already at-risk kids to a different, farther away school will not suddenly improve their scores and/or learning. They don’t need less from TC Miller; they need more. If the focus is on the student – moving them will not help.

To use our beautiful building for office space and administration is to cut the children’s academic and emotional needs for something less important. To repurpose the building is still retaining maintenance needs. 

To make a decision on school size fails to acknowledge that our waitlist is constantly full and data shows that smaller schools are more beneficial for at-risk students. (look at state FOQ for details)

To make this decision on finances fails to understand that education is far more than a bottom line. My children are more than a bottom line. I believe you can find ways to meet the fiscal needs without closing our doors.

If you fail to hear us and invest in an amazing school like TC Miller, I question my faith in LCS and its leadership. I want to be your biggest advocate, but to ignore parents, students, teachers and information would not reflect the leadership I want for my children and community.  

Most importantly, these kids have already been through so much in the last three years. Closing their school would be devastating. It would break their tiny, sweet, elementary hearts. It is their home. It is their safe space. It is their family. It is where they learn and grow. Show them that they matter.

AT TCM, learning is creative and innovative. We have open performances regularly through the year, where students showcase what they’ve learned in front of the rest of the school, fostering pride, confidence, understanding, creativity.

We offer drum circle, STEP, flag corp, show choir, advanced art, violins, and a staff who will help start clubs as students are interested. We are in the process of beginning an advanced math group, where students can be challenged and practice upper-level problem-solving.

We have a Thanksgiving Parade where each class creates and puts on a special performance as well as a school wide dance number.

We put on middle/high school level plays. Our lights and sound are run by a student tech-group, empowering them to do important work.

We have a room dedicated to our amazing program for STREAM, innovative experiments and hands-on learning happening every day.

We have rooms dedicated to both art and music, where students can let their creativity unfold.

We have a library with student workers – leaders who have applied and interviewed for their job within the library and take their responsibility seriously.

Our movement teacher incorporates lessons from math, science, language arts, and social studies into her work.

Our school is unique, special, and we hope to only get better and better.

 Do not take TC Miller from our community. 

Do not take TC Miller from us. 

We are Eagles. Let us SOAR. 

Thank you for your time. Please reach out to discuss any of this further. I’d welcome the opportunity. 

Sincerely,

Carly Eccles Sheaffer 

Proud TC Miller Parent 

Community Leader

A school closure cliff is coming. Black and Hispanic students are likely to bear the brunt