Polk Transition Update

Got a genuine pen-and-paper, old-school letter from a reader recently who is sick of hearing about Polk Elementary. How sick? "Your whining is enough to make a person puke," he wrote. That's pretty sick.

Nonetheless, I am willing to risk some reader queasiness to bring you the latest. I'll try to keep my whining to a minimum.

Last eve, the Cedar Rapids School Board received an update on the transition process for families affected by the Polk closure next fall and other closures and boundary changes. You might remember a week ago I wrote about Polk parents who expressed frustration with a transition process they contended left some families confused and questions unanswered. They also argued that the timeline between the March 12 closure vote and an April 4 deadline to choose a new school for their children was too compressed, due to spring break and other disruptions that made it tougher to communicate with staff and set up times to tour schools.

The district mounted a lengthy defense Monday. Officials downplayed the scope of difficulties, and, a few times, made thinly veiled assertions that problems are being exaggerated for show. Executive Administrator Mary Ellen Maske explained and defended the district's plan as being well-though-out, comprehensive and effective for most families. Superintendent Dave Benson conceded that a handful of informational packets sent to families were returned by the Postal Service. But most families have been kept up to speed.

Even if they didn't like the criticism, district leaders, to their credit, seemed to listen to it. Officials moved the school choice deadline to April 18. Which makes sense, given that half of Polk's 191 families had not yet made a school choice by Monday, five days after the original deadline. The extra time should give many more families a chance to ask questions and tour schools.

Last week's informational Polk Family Picnic was attended by 255 people, which is great. But members of the School Board were not among them. President John Laverty said he didn't want the event to be come a "media spectacle for emotions to boil over."

I didn't go either, so I guess I almost missed a "media spectacle." But I also wasn't elected to represent these folks. I think an appearance by a board member or two could have gone a long way toward mending some fences. I doubt it would have been a spectacle. Just parents armed with grilled burgers. Not so scary, really.

I wonder how this post-closure saga might have been different if that picnic were the first item on the transition agenda, instead of the last. Bringing families together with staff to get information from real people, instead of a form letter, might have softened the initial blow and got the transition off on the right foot.

Something to consider next time, I guess. Benson said the district would look at what worked and what didn't, compiling it into a "post-event evaluative document." And here I thought they couldn't top "supposals."

This was my very first visit to the new Educational Leadership and Support Center. An impressive edifice, although I was surprised how small the board room is. Just 55 seats in front of a long, raised podium where the board and superintendent sit. With 169,000 square feet to work with, I expected roomier digs. On the upside, a great view from every seat.