To the editor:
I’m not surprised that the community conversation at Francestown Elementary School was well attended. Many valid concerns were raised and valuable insights shared. A recurring topic was FES being the “heartbeat of our community.”
In our rural area, schools are often the central point of our communities and a dominating factor in our towns desirability and real estate values. FES staff commitment to quality of education was commended by the Francestown folks attending. Many remarked on advancement in teacher training. This school year, multi-age classrooms have been initiated at FES and are working really well. That took a lot of out-of-the box thinking and additional training. I have been on the leadership team for three years now and have witnessed both Dr. Saunders and Dr. Forrest (Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent) compliment the team for our progress. FES puts kids first.
A recurring question was “Why Francestown?” to which the School Board answered that this is the first of many conversations across the district. I want the broader Monadnock community to understand that it may be our school in the cross-hairs now due to low enrollment numbers, but it could be your smaller town school in the future. It has been speculated that when the Board’s previous strategy of closing small schools was not approved by the required 2/3 vote, they may have changed to a strategy of picking the smaller schools one by one. But even the measurement of “small” is imprecise. The Board and this newspaper have quoted a projected FES enrollment of 38 for the 2020-2021 school year. As kindergarten registration has not opened yet, census data was used to estimate kindergarten enrollment. Since this discussion of reassignment has been brought up, multiple families have come out of the woodwork (either recently moved into town or didn’t report to the census). FES projected enrollment numbers for next year are up to 47 at this point.
It was asked “what number of students is too small?” “What data has been collected that supports evidence that a small school is detrimental to learning?” “What will happen to the building as it sits empty for the five years the School Board is suggesting?” “What cost savings will actually be seen from the closure of FES, and how would that money be used by the larger schools in the district?” With the assistance of the facilitator, Joe Miller, we were able to work together to tell the Board about the perceived strengths of FES, and also voice questions and concerns. I look forward to getting some answers from the School Board. We are grateful for everyone’s time in coming together to explore this important subject – School Board included.
In the meantime, if you live in a smaller town where projected enrollment could dip below 40 or 50 – please be diligent in your community. Band together and discuss options should your school become the topic of discussion. Prepare data (we are blessed to have a data analyst in our wheelhouse), and brainstorm strategies. Francestown residents have a lot of great ideas and strategies we are passionate about, and invite you to work with us. Small schools need to stick together. “Temporary reassignment” means closure. If FES is closed, it could be the beginning of the end of our small-town schools in the ConVal district.
Meghan Hardwick
Francestown