Neighborhood schools best for young children

Dear Editor:

The Kingston school district used to have 13 small neighborhood schools sprinkled around the district, as far south as Rifton and Tillson, and as far north as the edge of Woodstock. Unfortunately, in the past 10 years, as we’ve seen the trend toward consolidation, our small schools have closed.

What we were told is the larger schools would provide more resources. We were promised children would have better access to enrichment, foreign languages and arts. None of those promises panned out, and we instead experienced longer bus rides, crowded schools and the loss of local community.

My experience as a parent of two boys also has been a poorer quality of care and education. Small schools gave my children a sense of community and stronger relationships — things we know are key to learning. Small schools gave my children a healthier day because we could previously walk to school, and our small school (Anna Devine in Rifton) had a nature trail, large fields and beautiful nearby woods.

There is a commonsense knowledge that young children should be educated in schools that match their scale. Sending elementary-aged children to a large school, a large cafeteria and crowded halls, by way of long bus rides, goes against what we know children need to build a foundation of learning, which starts with safety and belonging.

Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t help but wonder what our reopening plan would have looked like if we only had our small schools in our neighborhoods.

Carol Murray Rifton