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Parents frustrated, concerned with Pike Road School

Montgomery Advertiser - 4/13/2017

April 13--Kelli Wise's fourth-grade daughter came home from Pike Road School crying.

She excelled as a student at Wynton M. Blount Elementary School, but now Wise said her education is suffering and she's not sure her decision to pull her child out of Montgomery Public Schools to attend the new Pike Road School that opened two years ago was a good one.

It appears that for many moms and dads who attended several community meetings and a Pike Road School Board of Education meeting this week, the honeymoon phase at Pike Road School is quickly coming to an end, and they fear that it may be too late for their children to become college-ready.

"She told me, 'Mommy, I don't think I'm learning anything.' You don't want to hear that as a parent," Wise said.

"The first year I understand. They were overwhelmed, but there's no structure. There's still no discipline," she added. "My daughter has seen a two-grade deficit in her learning when looking at the ACT Aspire results."

More:Pike Road School kindergarten nurtures kindness

Wise is among many parents with growing concerns and frustration, claiming a lack of structure and discipline policies at Pike Road School along with concerns about Pike Road Way, an innovative educational approach to learning used by PRS that is based heavily on student-led and project-based learning. Assessments are used instead of tests to gauge student's grasp of state educational standards.

Keith Bland, father of a Pike Road student, warned that too much structure would choke out the creative approach of the Pike Road Way, while many others are advocating for a hybrid version.

Several community meetings were held around Pike Road for parents to voice the issues they are experiencing at Pike Road School and what they would like to see in a new or interim school superintendent.

Current Superintendent Suzanne Freeman announced her retirement in February and will be leaving her position at the end of this school year. In May 2016, Freeman denied rumors that she would resign after a challenging first year. That has since changed. Freeman said she will resign July 1 to spend more quality time with family.

While dozens of parents spoke up praising the hands-on learning and teamwork at the school, each one also addressed similar issues as Wise. Many of them say they have witnessed a decline in their children's academic progress and, although many see the benefits of project-based learning, they want to see it coupled with traditional numerical grades, report cards and structured curriculum so their students are ready to take the ACT Aspire and enroll in college.

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Poor communication between administration, staff, the board and parents was another area Wise and other parents mentioned.

Those with the most concern and the most to lose are parents like Stacy Holley, whose students are in the higher grades. She has a daughter in ninth grade, or Community 9, and a son in Community 7. The school began with grades kindergarten through eighth grade and added a grade each year. They are expected to finish building a new high school building by the next school year.

That would help the overcrowded classes and the large student-to-parent ratio, Holley said, but her daughter is about to start looking at colleges and right now she's not ready. Holley is "scared to death" and parents threatened a mass exodus if changes were not made. Several families at the meetings said they have already withdrawn their students from the school and either enrolled them in private schools or homeschooling them.

Holley has been forced to hire a private tutor for her daughter, who will also be enrolled in summer school after testing at a sixth-grade level in math and reading on the ACT Aspire, three grades below where she should be.

"There's no homework, so it's hard for us as parents to know how to help our children out at home, so that's why when they are tested for the ACT Aspire their grades are so low," Holley said.

The dilemma Kim Adams faces is whether she should pull her son and daughter out of the school and uprooting their family again after moving them from Montgomery to attend in Pike Road.

She's unable to re-enroll her children in the MPS magnet schools they were going to before since they live outside the district.

"My daughter's GPA was a 4.125, she was taking AP and honor classes and now she's told by her teacher she can't even write a proper essay," Adams said.

"My biggest fear is that I fail my kids and ruin their education. I'm concerned, very concerned."

More:Pike Road School's first year: Rocky start, brighter future

According to the school this week, about 1,400 students attend the school and 72 students have withdrawn this year. Of those, 46 were for zoning and other disqualifies. Twenty-six families left on their own.

Former Alabama school superintendent Ed Richardson was asked by the Town of Pike Road's council to organize community meetings and from each meeting dozens of parents have spoken out. He will present a compiled report to the council for consideration and plan to solve the issues would be presented by the end of May.

"From these meetings there are many issues, but they're not anything that can't be easily solved, and those are issues will have to be resolved especially when seeking accreditation next year," Richardson told parents.

Ray Hawthorne, the president of the Pike Road School Board of Education thanked the dozens of parents who came out the board meeting on Tuesday and had a chance to speak directly with the board.

"We're going through a transitional period right now searching for a new superintendent and we're taking input from citizens to make the best selection possible," Hawthorne said. "While we believe we are doing some things great, we think there are some things that we can work on too and we acknowledge that.

"We've heard you, we've met with parents and met with teachers. What we intent to do is listen."

Mayor Gordon Stone also thanked families at the community meeting led by Richardson.

"Thank you for caring about your families, caring about your community. Thank you for your input. We as the town are happy to be working with the school board for these input sessions, and we are committed to having a great product," Stone said.

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