Letter from Mayfair parents against Austin Meehan transfer !

Mayfair parents united against our Kindergarten & 1st grade children being forced out of our neighborhood school and placed in Austin Meehan.  We are told this less than a month before school ends for the summer. Mayfair elementary has been over crowded for 5+ years with no solution. As parents we are extremely concerned. Austin Meehan is in deplorable condition. There is $22 million dollars worth of major structural, mechanical, electrical and environmental work needed to be done to this crumbling building. This is a safety concern for all of us. We should not have to fight for the safety, physical and mental well being of our children!

Please read our letter below speaking out and sign the petition.

Join us on Facebook @ Parents United for our Mayfair school students


Thank you!

(Letter) --

Parents and Friends of Mayfair Elementary School

Email: ParentsUnited4Mayfair@gmail.com

May 23, 2018

William Hite, Ed.D., Superintendent

Richard Rhodes, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent

School District of Philadelphia

440 N. Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA 19130

Via email

Dear Dr. Hite and Dr. Rhodes:

We are writing as parents of children from Mayfair Elementary School. We have serious concerns about your recent decision about our children and our community without our input.

We recently learned that all Kindergarten and first grade students of Mayfair Elementary School will be relocated to Austin Meehan Middle School starting the coming September School Year. Over 100 parents, not counting our friends, allies, and supporters, gathered at Mayfair Elementary's auditorium last week in response to your sudden decision. We are outraged by this decision that was made without any input from affected families and was communicated to us with only one month left in the school year.

We will not allow our children to be moved to Austin Meehan Middle School. Austin Meehan is a school in need of major repairs. According to a Site Assessment Report conducted in 2015 — Austin Meehan requires $22 million of repairs. A few highlights from the report include:

• The roof is described as "falling"

• Electrical service for the entire building is beyond service life

• "Most windows do not have screens and if opened would provide an easy way for students to fall out; thus, wood boards have been attached to the inside of the windows to make it more difficult for students to accidentally fall out of windows whether opened or closed."

• "Lower floor windows are small, do not let in much natural light and look like basement windows when viewed from the inside spaces; they all have security screens and many have graffiti."   

• Because of the 4 pod circular design of this school, there seems to be a large amount of open circulation space in the building. The odd-sized rooms located in some of these circular spaces creates a somewhat confusing pathway through the building.

• Plumbing fixtures need to be replaced throughout the school because they are beyond service life

The following is a direct quote pulled from the report: "At the time of inspection, the team met with Ms. Mary Jackson, the Principal.  She indicated that a major deficiency in the design of this school is its circular corridors and room orientation which inhibit security by creating many hiding places, preventing good visibility inside the corridors. The heating system does not work properly, there are many leaks in throughout the building, cafeteria ventilation is poor, electrical supply is inadequate in computer labs, and the asphalt paving is worn out in all areas around the site."

Austin Mehaan is already struggling without ends in sight in such poor conditions of its facilities. It does not need an additional four hundred of the most vulnerable students arriving in its school. Our children are English Language Learners, many require specialized education. You are moving the youngest students, who are completely new to the school environment to a school that is not designed to accommodate them and to share a building with middle school students whom have not had to share space with younger ones before.

According to a letter sent to parents, the children will be housed in a "pod" and this section of the school will be renovated including: new bathrooms, updated furniture, fresh paint, and upgraded lighting. What about the falling roof? The failing electrical system? A fresh coat of paint and new tables does not fix the problem and does NOT make conditions safe for our kids.

We are writing to make clear that:

1. We will not allow our children, vulnerable kindergarten and first graders to be removed from their school community to an unsafe, crumbling building where there are no appropriate services.  

2. We refuse to be excluded from the decision making process about our children, our school, and our community.

We demand:

1. A site inspection of Austin Meehan School conducted by Jerry Roseman, Director of Environmental Science for the Philadelphia Federation of Teacher and Environmental Science Advisor for the Philly Healthy Schools Coalition.

2. We, as parents, will do a walk through of the school as part of the site inspection.

3. We want a community meeting before the end of this school year with you, the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Neighborhood Network 9, with the current chair and members of the School Reform Commission, and the members of the incoming Philadelphia Board of Education in attendance, that is open to all families. We want answers directly from you to our questions, which are:

1. Why were we excluded from this decision making process?

2. Why did you only communicate with us one month before the end of the school year?

3. What were the alternatives explored aside from moving our vulnerable kids to Austin Meehan?

4. Did you include the parents and community at Austin Meehan in this major decision making process?

5. There were 19 specific architectural recommendations for Austin Meehan; 21 mechanical recommendations; and 12 electrical system recommendations listed in the FCA report — have they been addressed?

6. Austin Meehan has been a crumbling and deteriorating school, and documented as such for years. What is the current status of the building?

7. Has the heating system been replaced or upgraded?

8. What work has been been done to address significant roof leaks throughout the building?

9. What is the status of the thermal control and heating systems in the school?

10. The FCA report stated that there was $8+ million in work needed to be done in < 2 years [that is by now] — was it ever conducted?

11. The FCA report stated that an additional $7 million in work was needed to be done within 2-3 years — was it ever conducted?

12. A million dollars of work was needed to address Health & Safety Issues and Code Compliance Issues - was any of that ever done?

13. There was $21 million in needed maintenance repair work — what was done?

14. Is this building dangerous to have small children in? How?

15. What is the scope of the proposed renovations?

16. What is the timeline for the renovations?

17. How much will it cost?

18. How big is the budget for renovations?

19. Where is this money coming from?

20. How will the district ensure safety of the children?

21. How do you plan to support non-English speaking families at the Austin Meehan School?
    
    

We look forward to hearing from you, and meeting with you to discuss and to work together to improve our school and our community.

Regards,

Parents and Friends of Mayfair Elementary School

CC:

Mayor James F. Kenney

Otis Hackney, Chief Education Officer

Councilman Bobby Henon (6th District)

Councilwoman Helen Gym (Chair, Committee on Children & Youth)

Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell (Chair, Committee on Education)

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown (Vice Chair, Committee on Children & Youth, and Education)

Estelle B. Richman, Chair, Philadelphia School Reform Commission

All members of the School Reform Commission

All 9 members of the incoming Philadelphia Board of Education

Guy Lowery, Principal, Mayfair Elementary School

Mary Jackson, Principal, Austin Meehan Middle School

Danielle Floyd, Chief Operating Officer, School District of Philadelphia