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Parents and students urge Raleigh County board to spare Maples Scott Elementary from closure
Summary
Nearly a dozen parents and students testified at the board meeting, saying Maples Scott Elementary’s Title I supports, close teacher–student relationships and community services would be lost if the district closes the school and that closures would lead to overcrowding and academic setbacks.
Dozens of parents and students pressed the Raleigh County Board of Education to remove Maples Scott Elementary from a list of potential closures, saying the school’s programs and relationships are critical to children’s academic and social success.
"Taking the school away that offers this help to so many kids will hurt them in the long run," parent Rachel Schrader told the board, citing a Title I intervention that she said helped her daughter raise a reading score by about 80 points from January to May. Several speakers said the school’s Title I classes, fitness club and show choir give students academic supports and opportunities they would not get elsewhere.
Student speakers recounted personal benefits of the school. "Mapscott has helped me and my family so much," said 10th-grader Liam Schrader, who attended the elementary school and said his sister’s benchmark rose 80 points after Title I assistance. Abigail Pac, entering fifth grade, said she has made close friends and called for the board not to "close my school."
Parents warned of concrete operational consequences if the district closes Maples Scott: longer bus rides, larger class sizes and teacher displacement. "When you shut down one school, those students are packed into remaining classrooms," said a parent who spoke under the name Leanne, noting that Crescent Elementary is already at capacity and expressing concern classes could swell from about 20 to 30 students.
Board members did not take a final vote on closures during the meeting. Several speakers asked the board to seek alternatives to closure and to consider the social and emotional impact on young children, saying the school serves as an "anchor" for its neighborhood and provides informal family supports such as holiday assistance.
The public-comment period ran nearly an hour and included multiple personal accounts of school-based supports and appeals to preserve Maples Scott’s staff and programs.
