Petition to the Cranston School Department to Reinstate Mr. Paul Carpentier as Visual Arts Specialist I at Glen Hills Elementary School

 

Whereas, we, the undersigned parents and members of the Glen Hills Elementary School Community in Cranston, Rhode Island, recently learned of the Cranston School Department’s decision to transfer Mr. Paul Carpentier to another position at other schools; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Carpentier has been an irreplaceable member of our school community, providing superlative classroom instruction to our children for many years; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Carpentier has regularly put in effort far beyond his job description and used his creative gifts to support the children, teachers, and administration of Glen Hills School; and

 

Whereas, we have seen many examples of his selfless service to Glen Hills School and our children, including designing our 50th anniversary flag, standing on the roof of the building in his green leprechaun suit for a walkathon, greeting our children with a friendly puppet on his arm in the freezing cold temperatures, designing a t-shirt logo, leading the school enthusiastically in promoting PBIS, supporting our charitable causes, taking pictures at school events, doing amazing art projects, and always lending a hand at PTGH functions; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Carpentier also provided the design for the “You’ve Been Chomped” signs that have become a unifying effort among members of the community to show their spirit and support of Glen Hills School, including new signs to show support for a young student and her family as she fights cancer; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Carpentier has been the driving force behind the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports [PBIS] program and presented a lecture on PBIS best practices at the NAEA Convention in New Orleans, LA, in March, 2015; and

 

Whereas, Mr. Carpentier’s tireless efforts helped Glen Hills achieve its status as a Rhode Island Department of Education Commended school in 2014; and

 

Whereas, the Cranston School Department’s plan to replace Mr. Carpentier’s full-time commitment with “Art on a cart” programs will negatively impact our children’s ability to express their creativity by reducing instructional time to accommodate set-up and removal of temporary art sessions; and

 

Whereas, we are shocked and saddened that the Cranston School Department administration would consider removing Mr. Carpentier from our school community,

 

We, the undersigned, therefore request that the Cranston School Department administration rescind its plans to reassign Mr. Carpentier, and allow him to continue serving the Glen Hills School community with his unique gifts, tireless efforts, and unwavering commitment to our children.

 

Signed