We want our children to grow and learn in a safe and familiar environment. The BESD proposal to adopt a middle school model threatens to disrupt the community connection our students benefit from in our current K-8 system.

Studies suggest that students in K-8 schools outperform those in 6-8 middle schools. They exhibit higher academic achievement, less bullying, and fewer disciplinary problems (Weiss & Kipnes, 2006). We believe it is our duty as parents and guardians to allow our students to mature at a natural pace, and not expose them to more than they need to at this age. 

Reasons we oppose the middle school proposal:

1. Elementary schools foster connection amongst students, keep siblings engaged with their younger siblings through activities and shared experiences, and enable teachers to connect more with students. 
   
   
2. The location and timing will cause undue hardship on many families. Time spent coordinating drop-off and pick-up for families with multiple students will increase exponentially. LU Middle School is proposed to start around 8 am and elementary schools will start at 9:15 am.
   
   
3. Bus ride lengths will increase dramatically. Putting 11 year olds on a bus with 15-18 year olds, largely unsupervised as we know our busses are, will result in many parents not using the buses.
   
   
4. Due to budgetary concerns, we believe that LU Middle School will not offer robust opportunities for our students. Their curriculum and offerings will not enhance our student's educational experience.

What we want to achieve:

Maintain the existing K-8 Model for Burlington-Edison School District.

*PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION IF YOU AGREE!*

Let the district administration know that our families do NOT want a middle school at Lucille Umbarger.