Wissahickon School Board Votes To Close Mattison Avenue Elementary

The Jan. 14 meeting of the Wissahickon School Board had one agenda item: the vote on whether or not to close Mattison Avenue Elementary School.

Prior to the Board's vote and comments on the issue, residents were given an opportunity to peak to the board.

Jennifer Austen, of Rosemary Ave, in Ambler, said it's not only the constituents of Ambler who want the school to remain open, but also the children who attend the school.

Christine DeLaurentis, of Ambler, said one of the reasons given to close the school was the achievement gap, however, she said that test scores are not always indicative of what is learned.

"Our school is doing its job," said DeLaurentis. She continued that the board and administration should fix the problem at the schools the children attend and not move the children to a new building with the same curriculum to fix an achievement gap problem.

Isabelle Bruno, of Ambler, said her children feel very comfortable at Mattison Avenue, and as a parent she feels very comfortable at the community school. She said Mattison Avenue is a small school and a safe school.

Susan Morgan, of School St. in Ambler, said, "Tonight's vote should be a very simple one." She said she hoped that the board agreed with her that the school should remain open.

Superintendent Judy Clark said that the administration made the decision to close Mattison Avenue Elementary based on educational best practices.

The administration listened to the community and weighed what they had to say, Clark said, but the administration believes that the closure of the community school will benefit the students of Wissahickon School District today and into the future.

She said the administration will work with everyone to make the transition as smooth as possible.

School Board director Marjorie Brown began the Board comment. She began by saying that, from a financial perspective, closing Mattison is an easy decision, because there's excess building capacity at other elementary buildings in the district. However, she said, "It's not just a financial issue."

Brown said the district seeks to provide a high quality of programs to all of the district's students, and in her opinion, the students at Mattison Avenue Elementary do not receive the best education that Wissahickon can offer them because of the limited programs that can be offered and because the school's student transition to Shady Grove Elementary for 4th grade.

Brown said 12 years ago, she voted in favor of keeping Mattison Avenue Elementary open, "but today is a new day."

School Board director Burunda Prince-Jones said regardless of where a student goes to school, they will receive the same education, however, she continued that "buildings don't teach, teachers do."

"I'm not looking for perfection in planning ... [but for the best] for our students…and well being for a community." said Prince-Jones.

School Board Director Janice Singer, began her statement saying, "This is not an easy decision."

She continued that, "I firmly believe that the children of Mattison Avenue Elementary will be better served at a K through 5 school from the beginning."

Board member Dick Stanton, who voted against the closure, said the board made the elimination of the achievement gap a board goal, and since then has focused on African-American students. He said he now realizes that other ethnic groups also need attention to help overcome the achievement gap. He continued that he doesn't believe that closing Mattison Avenue Elementary will be the answer for closing the achievement gap.

"This is not a black and white issue," said Stanton.

School Board member Barbara Moyer said that the administration's belief that a K through 5 environment is optimal is why the district restructured the elementary schools. She added that if the transition from 3rd grade at Mattison to 4th grade is an issue, the transition should be removed.

"The decision is about the education of every child," she said.

Young Park, the School Board President, said, "The board [was] left with a difficult decision to make."

School Board solicitor Scott Wolpert said, "This is a final vote on this issue."

The vote went 6-3 in favor of closing Mattison Avenue Elementary, with Prince-Jones, Stanton, and Ullery voting in favor of keeping the school open.

Resident Joe Honeycutt, said "[This] is a significant disappointment."