We, the undersigned parents, caregivers, and community members, are calling on the Cheshire Board of Education and district leadership to uphold their commitment to our children and allow all Chapman School students to attend the new Barnum Elementary School as originally communicated.

For years, families were told that Barnum Elementary would serve our Chapman School community’s children. Many of us supported the school modernization project, the referendum, and long-term planning decisions based on these assurances. However, some of the redistricting proposals not only disregard these commitments, but also create unnecessary disruption for hundreds of children across the district.

These scenarios move an unprecedented number of students from one existing school to another, contradicting the district’s stated priorities around social-emotional learning (SEL) and student stability. Strong relationships, predictable routines, and consistent environments are essential for healthy development. Uprooting Chapman School children undermines these foundations and ignores the community’s needs.

We are deeply dissatisfied with the lack of transparency, limited public engagement, and sudden elimination of less disruptive redistricting options. The community deserves an open, honest, and student-centered process—not one that prioritizes convenience or cost over children’s well-being.

We urge the Board of Education to:

*Allow all Chapman School children, and their siblings if parents so choose, to attend the new Barnum Elementary as promised
*Reevaluate the proposed redistricting scenarios and restore options that minimize student movement
*Honor earlier commitments made to Chapman School families throughout the modernization planning process
*Prioritize social-emotional stability and community continuity in all redistricting decisions

Our children deserve consistency, fairness, and a district that keeps its word. We ask you to stand with us and advocate for a process that truly puts students first.