Friday night was a wonderful night for the Riverhead Charter School as our students bravely stepped out and showed us all what talented and remarkable children they are. I saw many smiling faces, positive energy, and a coming together of a school community that has been going through a tumultuous time these past few months. My sincerest thanks to all who helped contribute to making the night a smashing success.
Next week our school is beginning a new tradition by adding a week of planned events to the school calendar, our “Family Appreciation Week.” This opportunity for us to come together and show support to our students, and their families, provides us all with a chance to reward our children for their hard work throughout the year and is a fun way to end off the school year with positive energy. Again, in light of all the controversy surrounding RCS this is a great time to reflect upon the most important part of any school – the children.
As you have previously reported, next tuesday June 10 there is a NYSUT sponsored rally set to occur outside the school beginning at dismissal time. It is also the same night that RCS has a scheduled Movie Night for families on campus. There have been some inferences made that the administrators have chosen to schedule movie night to coincide with the rally in an attempt to subjugate the efforts of protestors, perhaps even that the whole week of planned events is fraught with nefarious intent to use our children as pawns against this grassroots effort. I reserve comment about such an outrageous theory but can state that the planning for this upcoming week has been ongoing for
months and the dates chosen long ago because they make the most sense within the confines of the school calendar.
I understand how impassioned we all are about our school, no matter which side of the street we stand on.I too am a concerned parent seeking the best for my child. It is for that reason that I must state my absolute shock at the inapprporiateness of holding such a protest during school dismissal. I fear for the safety of my child should this event become unmanageable. I am sure there is no intent or desire to put anyone in harms way however even the most peaceful of protests can have the potential to erupt into something other than peace. I believe there was an infamous board meeting that could be used as a valid example of what high tension can do to a room full of people.
RCS is located on a very busy stretch of highway where congestion on school grounds during dismissal is not uncommon. Yes there is a crossing guard, and the staff does a wonderful job getting the kids safely to waiting buses but what if? What if drivers are distracted by protestors? What if tensions mount to a state where arguing replaces quiet assembly? What if small children become fearful because they don’t understand the chaos? School is and always should be a place where our children feel safe. It is beyond my comprehesion as to why the risk of their safety is one anyone would be willing to take. It is questionable at best and quite honestly in direct contrast to the intention the protestors claim to have, that this is “for the children”. The fact that educators and parents plan to contribute to this event, at this chosen time and location, is reprehensible and shameful.
Safety concerns aside, there are many parents like myself that have chosen to protect our children from these very adult matters. This is not to say I have my head in the sand, quite the contrary. I have actively chosen, as a mother to a very small child, to uphold and respect his school pride by discussing such matters out of his earshot.I do not appreciate being forced to now explain to my first grader why there is a crowd of people gathered outside his school he loves, telling him something is wrong.
I personally have no issue with the right to assembly, peaceful protest, and freedom of speech. There are times where many people feel a motivation to come together and evoke a change, or have their voices heard. The ability to do so is one of the many freedoms of our great nation. I understand that there is an additional rally scheduled for the following Saturday at Stotzky Park. Why both? Your rally on Saturday will surely gain you the public attention and media coverage you seek without putting our children in a potentially unsafe situation. I urge you to give careful consideration to the implications this rally on June 10 could have upon the safety and well being of the children of the Riverhead Charter School.
Aimee LoMonaco
Editor’s note: The Riverhead Charter School Board of Education voted last month to name Ms. LoMonaco as a new member of the board, on which she will sit as parent representative. The appointment is subject to approval by the N.Y. State Education Department and is not official until such approval is obtained. The relationship between the author and the school administration was not disclossed by the author and the letter as originally published therefore did not contain a disclosure of same.
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