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Teachers and parents urge Elkhart Community Schools to preserve Woodland and Hawthorne programs
Summary
Teachers, parents and program staff told the school board they feel blindsided by consolidation plans that would close Woodland Elementary and fragment services at Hawthorne Early Learning Center, urging the district to prioritize specialized spaces, translators and staff seniority.
Tara Williams, a Woodland teacher of 25 years, told the board she and colleagues felt as if they were at “a funeral” after the district announced consolidation plans and asked trustees to consider the human cost of moving staff and students. “Please be mindful of the heart behind those numbers,” Williams said, calling the process insufficiently transparent and urging the board to honor staff seniority, including a librarian with 14 years in the district.
Lynn Bourner, who has taught in the district 12 years, said Woodland is a “community, a family” and that more than half the school’s staff have more than 10 years in the district.…
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