Please assist with the letter writing campaign to the Orange County School Board. These letters should be as personal as possible, but with the facts pertaining to community schools mergers/ closures. We have compiled a list of ideas (below) that may be of use to you as you write your letters to our elected School Board Members and our Superintendent.
The addresses of all are listed below also along with their email addresses...use them as you wish.
Please feel free to duplicate this information and hand it out to your friends, community and family who share our concerns and ask them to act by writing as well.
* Recent studies form the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Education shows that smaller schools (400 children or less) are the optimum learning environment for children. Community schools are such models providing the safe and small personalized learning environments.
* Because the entire staff of smaller schools knows all of the students, there are fewer discipline problems to distract from learning.
* Neighborhood schools encourage involvement of parents and neighbors who can volunteer more easily since the school is closer to their homes.
* Community schools are civic centers for the community
* Instead of closing successful schools to save money, OCSB should live up to their promises it made when the citizens of Orange County voted the 1/2 cent sales tax for school facility improvements.
* OCSB should explore other methods of meeting the unitary court status requirements.
* OCSB has been under the unitary status mandate for over 40 years and should not be rushing to close schools as a quick fix to get the part of the court order regarding facilities lifted.
*Please choose Option 1 and leave our schools status quo!
Please mail copies to ALL school board members:
Karen Ardaman
Joie Cadle
Daryl Flynn
Anne Geiger
Kat Gordon
Jim Martin
Rick Roach
all are at
PO BOX 271
Orlando, FL 32802
Ronald Blocker
445 West Amelia Street
Orlando, FL 32801
emails as follows:
PHONE FOR ALL:
407-317-3236