7-11 District Advisory Committee Members Sreekala Balasubramanian, Alejandra Argueta, Sylvia Barry, Betsy Borberg, Meg Cadiz, Ron Gerber, Steve Hospodar, Ali Iqbal, Mary LaPlaca, Jennifer Lynn (Delucchi), Almas Siddiqui, Nihad Peavler, Mariah Fisher, Tina McMillan; NUSD Superintendent Kris Cosca and NUSD Board Members:

* Note: A version of this petition in Spanish can be found here (Puede encontrar una versión de esta petición aquí).

**Note: A more in-depth, data-driven piece provided by the Lynwood PTA can be found here.

***Note: The paywall after signing is run by Change.org and not #SaveLynwood organizers. “Change.org conducts no external advertising outside the platform; the service the donor pays for is strictly promotion on the Change.org website. This functionality cannot be turned off by petition creators.” Learn more about Change.org's rules here.

www.savelynwoodschool.com

Our Novato community is facing a difficult time. We are faced with the tough but necessary decision to close an elementary school. Any outcome will involve the tragic destruction of a piece of our community.

And we here at the Lynwood community, and beyond, plead with you: Do not destroy us.

Closing Lynwood Elementary would effectively discontinue the Dual Immersion School. The District made a commitment to the Lynwood community that this would be a long term program and asked parents to make a similar commitment. To discontinue or move the program would undermine trust in the district and unfortunately decrease enrollment. Since the program’s size is too large to be moved to a single existing campus, we would either lose the Dual Immersion Program or disrupt not one but two schools. Our innovative, funded and necessary program will not survive a school closure. The Novato community will lose out on valuable bilingual students and future talent.

Notably, Lynwood students would be hit hardest if our school is closed. Lynwood has the highest level of children from Spanish-speaking homes in the District. It has one of the highest rates of families qualifying for free and reduced lunch at 68%. Lynwood is the only designated Dual Immersion School in the county and 70% of our students are Latinx. The data is clear. 195 Latinx students in the District will be displaced. 110 English-learning students will be displaced. The 68% who cannot afford a District school lunch will be displaced. The committee needs to be inclusive and aligned with the District’s claimed Values of Innovation, Equity, Caring, Inclusion and Collaboration.

Student success, especially with already marginalized learners, is delicate — with any small crack, it can shatter. Extra steps to getting to school, combined with the loss of your community, all without knowing the same level English as your peers, is not some small drop that makes a small crack. It’s throwing a student’s potential for success off a cliff. 

The future of our powerfully bonded community is in your hands. We respectfully petition you to remove us from the school closure list.

In community,

Romario Conrado - Lynwood Elementary Alum and Big Brother of a 2nd Grade Lynwood Tiger

The Lynwood English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)

Lynwood Elementary Parent Teacher Association

Lynwood Tigers and Friends