We write to express with one voice, as Maplewood parents, alumni, and members of the community, our sincere hope that you will keep Maplewood open, and our kids together.

1. Maplewood is a pillar of its neighborhood. Maplewood has been the center of this funky, diverse east side community since the 1950s. It can continue to be an anchor for a community experiencing rapid change from I-35 expansion and turnover in local businesses and childcare.

2. Maplewood is a walkable, community school. Its location is walkable without major street crossings for the kids and families who live in its surrounding homes and apartments–that walkability means that kids arrive at school grounded and ready to learn, kids and families connect within the neighborhood, and families’ transportation burdens are reduced. It is fitting that one of Maplewood’s most beloved staff members is our crossing guard, who has been singing kids across the street and watching out for their safety for over 25 years.

3. Maplewood is succeeding. It is the only AISD elementary school on the east side of Austin to achieve an “A” rating. Its success is pulling families into the public school system at a time when the district is facing its toughest challenges with enrollment. And with an educational cost score of 2 on the district’s rubric, if AISD is looking for efficiency and success, Maplewood is delivering.

4. Maplewood is diverse and fosters bilingual education. Its population includes one in four from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and one in two belonging to racial minorities. Maplewood has achieved measurable growth in literacy and math fluency across this population, and boasts a two way dual language program that has allowed kids to grow into bilingual, close-knit classmates and friends. 

Maplewood’s unique programs, culture, and trajectory of success could be lost if the school is closed or consolidated. Indeed, past experience with consolidation shows that it can often result in both schools becoming worse off. Teacher and staff attrition is inevitable in any major transition, and kids would be lost as well, as families seek out an established school with a track record of success, or as more well-resourced families opt out of the public school system entirely. Those outcomes would set back the very progress the district is striving to make.

Please keep our neighborhood school open and our community together. 

Peace,
The Maplewood Community

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