Open letter to the Richmond School Board of Trustees,
How did Dixon elementary end up on the list of recommended schools for closure?
Dixon is one of the very few schools in Richmond that is actually at or over its capacity.
Dixon is also one of the top 10 schools in number of attending students. Dixon is in better shape than the school that you are proposing to send our students to.
Are you really proposing to move 374 students from one of the largest, fullest schools in Richmond that does not need as extensive upgrades as the other schools?
Dixon is a very good school with a great community that would come to an end, only because other schools are below capacity and need to be filled up with Dixon kids.
The proposal that Dixon students should be torn apart and split into two or three schools is unacceptable.
Also, Diefenbaker school is not within a 15-minute walk as per one of the original criteria. Other criteria for a school closure was availability in a nearby school. That is clearly not the case with Dixon since Diefenbaker does not have enough capacity to absorb more than 200 French students from Dixon. A large number of families with kids in the French immersion program at Dixon live in the Dixon catchment.
They either moved to the neighborhood due to the great program Dixon is offering or they chose French immersion since they lived in the catchment.
As a working parent, I would have never chosen the French immersion program if my kid would have to be driven to another school.
I need the convenience of her being able to walk to school by herself. She will be in Grade 6 next year and there is no way she could walk to Diefenbaker. It is more than 1.6 km away and involves more than 20 minutes of walking, crossing both busy No. 1 Road and Williams.
Closing Dixon is not an option for us and should not be for any of you.
Radka Herle
Dixon elementary parent
