Petition to Prevent the Closure of Cherrywood Elementary School and Sierramont Middle School

To the BUSD Board and Superintendent,

We, the undersigned parents, students, teachers, and community members, strongly oppose the proposed closures of both Cherrywood Elementary School and Sierramont Middle School. We believe these decisions will have a profoundly detrimental impact on our children, our community, and the future of our neighborhood.

These schools are more than just educational institutions; they are integral parts of our community fabric, providing safe and nurturing environments where our children flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. The dedicated teachers and staff at both schools go above and beyond to ensure every student receives a high-quality education and feels valued.

Loss of unique educational opportunities:

• Cherrywood is renowned for offering the best Mandarin Immersion program in San Jose, fostering bilingualism and cultural understanding. 
• Sierramont Middle School boasts a a program that stresses excellence and diversity in scope and content. It has demonstrated excellent scores based on the metrics gathered by respected platforms for school rankings and reviews such as SchoolDigger and Niche.

Closing either one of these two schools would deprive families of these exceptional educational opportunities and diminish the district's commitment to diverse and enriching learning experiences.

Closing Cherrywood and Sierramont will also:

• Disrupt our children's education: Forcing students to relocate to unfamiliar schools will disrupt their learning, create unnecessary stress, and potentially lead to academic setbacks.
• Overburden neighboring schools: Closing these schools will overcrowd nearby schools, straining resources, increasing class sizes, and diminishing the quality of education for all students.
• Harm our community: Both schools serve as vital community hubs, hosting events, after-school programs, and activities that bring us together. Losing them will leave a void that cannot be easily filled.
• Decrease property values: The closure of beloved neighborhood schools will likely lead to a decrease in property values, impacting homeowners and the overall economic well-being of our community.

We urge you to reconsider these short-sighted decisions and keep both Cherrywood Elementary and Sierramont Middle School open. Our children deserve the best possible education, and our community deserves to retain these invaluable assets.

Sincerely,

Parents, students, graduates, teachers, and community members of Cherrywood Elementary School and Sierramont Middle School