William Prescott Elementary School is one of three elementary schools that will close if the plan goes through.
Scranton, Pennsylvania — The gymnasium at William Prescott Elementary School in East Scranton was full at the end of three town hall meetings for community members to provide feedback on the Scranton School District’s proposed restructuring plans.
“The information they have to provide us with to make this decision is very helpful,” said Carol Cleary, director of the Scranton Board of Education. More and more problems.Oh, I didn’t think of that, so it was very helpful.I’m glad I was able to participate in all three.”
The district’s restructuring plan closed all three elementary schools: John Adams, Charles Sumner, and William Prescott.
The school reports that this will result in about 600 students transferring to other elementary centers in the district.
William Prescott is part of Phase 2 of the restructuring plan, which will close at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
All students are then integrated into Robert Morris Elementary School in Green Ridge.
Laura Agostini says getting more students into Robert Morris can have an impact on the communities around them.
“Adding 200 hundred students means adding additional staff. Currently there is no parking for staff at Robert Morris. Where do you plan to park your staff? are stealing parking from,” Agostini said.
Erin Moore, a kindergarten teacher at William Prescott School, believes the change could affect an already successful learning environment.
“Don’t change what works,” said Moore. “We won the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence. We are performing well compared to other schools in our district.”
School board officials acknowledge that there is still much to discuss about the future of the three elementary centers.
“These are very difficult decisions and I think many people think they have already been made, but they have not yet been made,” Cleary said.
School officials say they plan to hold a vote on the reorganization plan sometime in April.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.
