San Jose school district decides not to close K-8 school for now

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Alum Rock Union School District says it’ll take a few more months to decide if it’ll split up one of its schools. The school currently serves kindergarten through 8th grade but a recommendation to remove the middle schoolers has some parents pushing back.  

Over a hundred people attended the meeting and most of them were asking the board not to make changes at Aptitud Academy. The board agreed to wait to make a final decision, but some people say they’ll continue to fight for the students.

"Yes, there is declining enrollment, but by closing the sixth, seventh, eighth [grades], you will create more difficulty for families," said Mr. Nguyen, an Aptitud Academy parent. 

Parents, students, and staff of Aptitud Academy voiced their concerns about Alum Rock Union School District removing grades six through eight from campus. Students may have to attend other nearby middle schools and many people at the meeting opposed that recommendation.

"Many families at Aptitud are feeling the same way. Just like me, they like the TK-through-eight model. My son is safe, his teachers care about him," said Wendy Ross, a district teacher and parent.

"We’ve been here since kindergarten, and we want to finish eighth grade," said one student. 

"You’re not doing a great job. So, now the option is to send our kids to a different middle school. Which one? Ocala? We don’t have Ocala anymore," said another parent. 

District leaders say low enrollment, families leaving the area and low birth rates are all contributing factors.

Currently, Aptitud serves kindergarten through eighth grade, but the superintendent of Alum Rock Union School District, Dr. Hilaria Bauer, says there just aren’t enough students to justify keeping the school open as it is.  

"Just to remind the board, to run an elementary school we need about 500 students to sustain the site," said Bauer. 

Bauer says Aptitud Academy currently has about 410 students, but middle schools need to have at least 700 students to operate. The board ultimately decided to shelve the recommendation until June. 

Still, some say district leadership should have been more transparent sooner and involved the community.   

"We do know that there are going to be some very unhappy decisions coming along, but the community needs to be a part of that," said Gwen Harl, a teacher at Aptitud Academy. 

"Right now, we don’t trust the superintendent. I’m sorry to say this, but that’s how we feel," said Norma Pimentel, who has a fifth grader enrolled at Aptitud Academy. 

The board also says that it’ll look at the entire district and determine if other schools may be closed, as well as Aptitud Academy. They hope to have their final decision in June.