As a student of Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, I do not believe moving our school to the Cleveland NJROTC building by CVPA is a good choice at this time. I am very invested in making sure that Collegiate continues to grow and improve, and while this move may seem appealing, there are several reasons I do not believe it will benefit our school. 

First and foremost, SLPS has not been transparent with Collegiate parents, students, and staff. This decision will be made in a matter of days, yet no effort has been made to inform us and allow us to weigh in. The only way this news has spread has been through word of mouth. Yes, parents did fill out a survey about our needs, but other than that we have received no clear information as to this move to Cleveland. This is not adequate time to allow our community to discuss and decide how we feel about the opportunity. The CSMB community has the highest stake in this decision, but we have not been informed of the pros and cons. I propose that, for this to even be considered, the board should present to Collegiate what this move would look like.

Second, the building that we currently occupy is not perfect, but the Cleveland building does not have the proper accommodations for our curriculum and needs. The building is only fitted with one science lab, meaning that a large amount of work needs to be done to create more labs for our science-based courses. There is also concern these labs will still not be large enough for our classes. Collegiate will have no opportunity before the move to preview the building, meaning that we have no information as to whether the space will suit our needs. Instead of spending money on new labs, I believe it would be much more beneficial to improve the labs we currently have, build another building for our school, or search for more suitable accommodations. 

Third, as a student, one of my favorite parts of Collegiate is our close-knit community. From watching the board meeting, it is clear that the primary consideration behind this decision is economic: how can SLPS save money? But the impacts on our community must be considered, too. What will our school spirit be like after this? How do the teachers, parents, and students feel and how will we all be individually affected? Will there be buy-in from the community? How will sharing facilities with CVPA change our environment? Collegiate is the 8th best high school in Missouri, and we have reached this point because of everyone’s hard work and dedication to our core values and ideals. Many of us fear that a move will jeopardize this for our school.

My fourth reason is that Collegiate is centrally located near important medical institutions. These resources have become crucial to Collegiate's identity: rising freshmen at orientation tour SLU. Seniors only have to cross the street for an internship at Cardinal Glennon. Soon, the SLU Hospital could be another important partner. Moving our building to Cleveland NJROTC would complicate our relationships with these institutions. Furthermore, moving our start time back to 7 to match CVPA would not only be detrimental to the wellbeing of our teen students, but harmful to our senior year internships. Because most intern locations do not start at 7 and end at 2 (like our would-be school hours), seniors would be losing valuable time to learn and connect with the St. Louis community.

Fifth and finally, the Collegiate community is not in favor of this move. From conversations with fellow students, teachers, and parents, it is clear that there is little-to-no buy-in. With the limited information that we have, many of us have concluded that this decision will negatively affect us. I ask that, in their consideration, the Saint Louis Public School Board recognize this point.

These are just a few reasons I do not believe it is the right time to move CSMB to a different campus. If you agree with any of these things, I ask that you sign this petition and share it with others. Please also consider emailing the SLPS Board Members, because ultimately, they are the decision-makers. 

Regardless of what decision is made, I will continue to wholeheartedly support our school community. If the School Board believes the move is best, I will stand by their decision and do everything in my power to promote a smooth transition.