Parents and alumni decry instability for Rebecca Turner alternative program as district reorganizes

Several speakers at the May 6 meeting urged the board to preserve stability for the Rebecca Turner alternative program and criticized repeated moves and name changes as harmful to students.

"They would be stripped of their building and rightful name to be shuffled around again," former student and community member Antoinette King said, describing the program’s multiple relocations and renamings. King said students who do not graduate will face added risk if they are moved back into buildings that previously rejected them.

Lifelong Mount Vernon resident Cynthia Crenshaw raised personnel and staffing concerns at Rebecca Turner and other district schools, saying parts of the building had not had teachers in key subjects. "The students at Rebecca Turner, the science region, they have not had a teacher for 1 year," Crenshaw said, adding that some students might lack teachers for core courses and asking whether those students would be exempt from assessments.

Speakers traced Rebecca Turner’s history — including previous names such as Mandela Zollicoffer and moves between STEAM and Mount Vernon High School — and urged the board to provide a permanent facility and consistent leadership for the program. "If you want children to change, then you guys are gonna have to change how you guys are treating them," Antoinette King said.

Discussion versus decision: these were public comments and calls to action; the board did not announce a new site or change for Rebecca Turner at the May 6 meeting. Trustees and staff heard the concerns but no formal resolution addressing these requests was adopted at that session.

Ending: Speakers asked the board to prioritize a stable facility, consistent staffing and programs tailored to the students served by Rebecca Turner; trustees did not make a formal decision on those requests at the meeting.