What do parents say?
We talked to parents on the last day of school about their hopes for their kids.
On the last day of school in May, beaming elementary school kids burst out of the doors of Horace Mann Pre-K-6.
“This is a good school,” said Kathryn Robinson as she walked home with her thirdgrade daughter. “I think they do a good job. They do the best job they can do. She likes it. She’s good in her class.”
But she and other parents said they don’t plan to stay in the district.
“We’re going to try to get out probably before middle school,” Robinson said. “They just don’t have enough resources to teach them as much as some of the other schools can like Centerville, or Kettering maybe.”
Heather and Justin Ralston, as they waited for their fourthgrader, also spoke highly of Horace Mann but said they planned to move out of the city when their kid aged out of that school. They want a school with more parental involvement.
“That’s where it starts is parenting, and being involved with the kids at school and a lot of behavior, is why we don’t want him going to middle school or high school here,” Justin said.
Across town, next door to Fairview Elementary School, a 10-foot-tall sign congratulated Xyon Roberson on graduating from Ponitz Career Technology Center. Roberson said he wants to go to Wright State and study nursing because, he said, “I like helping people.”
“I’m glad he made it through,” said his mom, Valecia. “He stayed focused. He had a lot of support at home and at school so I’m very happy about it.”
Some parents at Fairview had their complaints as well.
“The transportation system is horrible,” said Ladonna Bush as she waited for her second- and third-graders to exit Fairview.
“They want our kids to get an education, but I go to four schools every single day to drop my kids off. The buses that are supposed to come, they don’t show up on time or they don’t pick the kids up at all. And then my kids here, they’re straight-A students and honor roll, but this school is so messed up.”
Some spoke glowingly of the school. “I love the school. My daughter is in after-school programs. She loves it,” said Aaron Williams as he waited for his first-grader to emerge. “I really don’t have any complaints at all.”