[RP TownTalk] Elementary school districts are changing

[David Hiles]

This is an example of how municipalities are minor players in this 
critical issue for Prince George's County.  Would it be good for 
building local identity and community effectiveness if Riverdale Park 
kids went to the same elementary school and then went to the same 
middle school and high school?  The town might have a reason to be 
involved in school system activities.  The town might serve as a 
nucleus for organized parental action.

In the civil rights era, churches provided an alternate base for 
organized action when the political system was unresponsive or hostile. 
  The Catholic church played a similar admirable role in Poland during 
the Solidarity era.  Churches could provide a base for improving public 
education in our fair county, but many of the larger church communities 
may see themselves as having an interest in keeping students flowing 
into their own schools.

As it is now, we are diffused.  Even the Riverdale Elementary parents 
and kids are  split over at least two middle schools and high schools.  
Activist parents transfer out of our schools using various strategies.  
While individuals can address their problems that way, the communal 
problem doesn't get addressed.  Things could change for the better if 
municipalities started insisting on school boundaries that reflected 
town borders.

On Nov 30, 2005, at 12:00 PM, TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org wrote:

> Elementary school districts are changing
WE are who we have been waiting for.
http://riverdalepark.blogspot.com/