www.keepreedopen.com

Reed Elementary is more than a campus—it’s a walkable neighborhood community where children and families build friendships, family members volunteer, and students thrive with consistent routines and support. We are deeply concerned that current “Schools of Tomorrow” options being discussed could close Reed and/or split our neighborhood, sending children to multiple different schools and destabilize families.

SJUSD states this process may reduce the number of elementary schools and redraw boundaries, and that STIC will make a recommendation to the Board no later than March 12, 2026. This is happening fast and options presented have plans to cut a third of all elementary schools in SJUSD.  The stakes for our children are enormous, and this process is happening too fast to understand the impacts this will have our community and our children.  These are our children that lived and learned through the COVID pandemic, and they deserve the time and intention in making the systemic decisions that will impact them for the rest of their lives.   

Reed Elementary: At a Glance

• Projected Enrollment (2025-2026): 320 students
• Underserved Pupil Percentage (UPP): 28%
• School Type: Neighborhood Elementary School
• Specialized Programs: None (standard elementary curriculum)
• Community Access: Walkable for many families

1. Transportation Issues in the Community as a Result of Closure or Consolidation

• The district has not provided clear data on how many in our community will be affected by the closure of Reed specifically as it relates to students and families walking as their only means of transportation to work or school.  Some families do not have a car and/or have to share a car.
  • Moving students outside of a walkable distance to school and across dangerous intersections, could be detrimental and dangerous to families.
  • This could prevent students access to their education
• The options presented by the committee, but specifically the ones that identify Reed for closure, will inevitably lead to an increase of families using cars for transport to school.  The district has provided no data on traffic increases in school areas with any option presented by the committee. 
  • This could add traffic congestion and pollution in our community
  • This could lead to bottle necks in school drop offs, increase time to get to school and work
  • This could create unsafe conditions for students walking to school who live in the school boundary

Conclusion: More information needs to be obtained on specific transportation, traffic and pollution consequences as result of the options presented by the committee.  This has to be done before decisions are made to close any schools, but especially as it pertains to options where Reed Elementary is identified for closure.

 2. Closure Would Cause Significant Student and Family Disruption

• 320 students would need re-assignment
• Increase transportation time, reduce walking access to school
• Larger class sizes at receiving school
• We are a familial, tight knit, close community that leans on each other and it would be deeply disruptive to our community and our children to close and separate us into different schools

Conclusion: By the district's own metric on "student disruption" metric, closing Reed creates an unnecessary amount of harm to our community, and the options presented should be reconsidered.

3. Equity Impacts Would be Negative

Reed has a low to moderate UPP (28%). However, nearby schools presented in options to absorb Reed in consolidation have high UPP numbers (roughly 77%).  Closing and redistributing Reed would:

• Increase class sizes
• Strain support services in classrooms that already have children with high needs
• Reduce resources for students with the highest needs

Conclusion: The long-term consequences of closing a school like Reed and re-distributing them to schools with high needs far outweigh the benefits of short-term financial savings.  We should do better for our children.  

Our Ask:

We respectfully request that the district:

• Remove Reed Elementary from consideration for closure
• Reconsider the determination to close a third of elementary schools in SJUSD by next school year
• Slow down the process and revisit areas of concern, like transportation issues, and obtain more data before making any decision that we know will negatively impact our Reed community and all families in SJUSD.

For more information or if you want to get involved, please visit our website for further information.

www.keepreedopen.com

If you would like to contact the Board of Trustees who are ultimately the ones who make the decision on school closures, please see people identified as “decision makers” below.