Please sign the petition if you support the reasons outlined in the attached letter asking that the Board of School Commissioners vote to delay any decision regarding the closing of Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary School, Eutaw-Marshburn Elementary School, and Steuart Hill Academic Academy until the 2023 – 2024 school year.

Dear Chairwoman Richardson and members of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners,

Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), leaders from the school communities of Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary School, Eutaw-Marshburn Elementary School, and Steuart Hill Academic Academy, and community advocates stand together in asking that you withdraw the vote scheduled for January 11, 2022 to close our three schools as stated in the 2021-2022 Annual Review Recommendations Report. We ask that the vote be taken up in the school year 2023-2024.  This will allow school communities time to organize and engage families in this process and decide collectively the best path forward for each school. If the community decides a school should be closed, they will have time to work with the district to come up with a well-thought-out closure and transition plan.  

Our request is based on the following reasons:

• Now is not the time to be closing schools. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended families’ and educators’ lives. A decision to close these schools and rezone students would add to the stress and trauma families, students, and educators are facing.  School should be a source of stability, not stress, for students during the pandemic. 
• Safety precautions taken during the pandemic, including limiting visitors in buildings and moving community meetings to online platforms make connecting with families extremely challenging. The digital divide is a significant obstacle in our communities. We are grateful the district includes a process for community engagement when proposing to close schools, but the obstacles created by the pandemic as well as the timeline of community engagement occurring in the holiday season have made genuine engagement with families virtually impossible. Delaying the decision to vote on the fate of our schools for two years would allow our communities time to engage families and jointly discern the best course forward. 
• It is unclear to us whether the District has coordinated this decision with the city. Each of these schools is adjacent to an impact development zone. Is the Mayor aware of this proposal and how it could impact his neighborhood redevelopment efforts?  
• We have genuine safety concerns. First in how students would get to the new schools. The new schools would require students to travel across some of the busiest streets in the city, and through distinct neighborhood territories. Crossing these boundaries poses threats to students’ physical safety. Walking school buses and safe passage programs can be set up to ensure student safety, but these require extensive community support and time to establish. Second, we are concerned for students’ safety and well-being when attending the new schools without time to create a proper plan jointly by merging school communities. Baltimore is a city of distinct neighborhoods. When students from different neighborhoods are placed in the same school, significant work needs to go into early planning to account for new students, engage in community needs assessments, as well as have time to establish positive relationships. Rushing through this critical planning jeopardizes student belonging, safety, and may increase the likelihood of conflict within new school communities.

We appreciate the Board's interest in community input, and we request the opportunity for a team of leaders from our institutions to meet with you prior to Tuesday’s board meeting to discuss our request and answer any questions you may have. 

Please contact Elizabeth Reichelt, BUILD Co-chair at 410-790-5301 or elizabethreichelt@me.com to schedule meetings. 

Respectfully signed and submitted,