GCS Alienates Parents

Dear Editor,

Guilford County Schools seems to really be trying to alienate parents this year.  I would like to detail some of the scenarios that have simply been hoisted upon parents with little to no regard for family schedules or needs.

A group of schools were reclassified as Restart Schools prior to the beginning of the current school year.  These schools have a different calendar than most of the schools, with the most obvious difference being they start a week earlier.  Parents were not notified of the reclassification or the new start date.

The start and end times for schools were modified drastically this school year.  These changes were announced to parents, but without any discussion and with limited time to work through details.

The ball fields at Grimsley High were procured as land for the new Kiser Middle School.  Grimsley parents were not notified.  Replacement space for the ball fields for Grimsley has not been addressed.

Many high school students lost GCS bus service and have been forced to ride city buses instead.  This decision was announced with one weekend for families to work through the details.

Two GCS high schools were told ­– after class registration for the semester had begun – that their schools were moving from a block schedule to a traditional schedule.  Many GCS high school students take advantage of dual enrollment with GTCC and schedule mixing can be quite a challenge.  Additionally, high school class planning is a four-year endeavor.  You begin your plan in ninth grade and execute it over the next four years.

Why has GCS moved to this dictator management style?  There are processes in place for such changes that include the Board of Education and parent input.  Those processes have not been followed.  Families are forced to carry the burden of the execution of these decisions and they have no input or recourse.

Lynn Andrew