In the dog days of summer, the Bucknell Bulldogs showed up!
Bucknell Elementary is a small Title 1, community school of 278 students in the Mount Vernon district of Fairfax County. Most students walk to school, and a number of families have seen three generations of children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews graduate from Bucknell ES. This tight-knit community has a level of loyalty and grit rarely seen in the suburbs with its transient populations and long commutes. In some ways, the Bucknell ES attitude is reminiscent of a small town’s allegiance to their local high school. Appropriately, their mascot is the “Bulldogs”, a pet whose loyalty to family is renowned.
If it is not clear, Bucknell is more than a school; it is a family. Bucknell ES is a courageous family that has been fighting for their school for decades. Like bulldogs, Bucknell’s tenaciousness makes them a powerhouse of courage, ready to take on threats and controversy.
Bucknell Elementary received Unwelcome News
Recently, this community was tested by some difficult news. Two days before school ended in June 2024, faculty and families at Bucknell Elementary School were informed of FCPS’s intention to turn their community school into a magnet Montessori school in the near future using a 5-year $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, with Pre-K and Kindergarten to be phased in beginning in 2025. During and after the phase-in period for the Montessori Magnet, Bucknell ES families were invited to stay in the Montessori environment, or be bused to Stratford Landing elementary; however, the letter was short on details.
Teachers were informed that they would need to get recertified on their own time if they wished to remain at Bucknell, or they would be relocated. They were also informed that there were Montessori certified teachers waiting in the wings for positions at Bucknell who were not Virginia certified teachers.
The community was up in arms and fearful for the future of their school, teachers, students, and community.
The Bucknell Bulldog PTA and Families Sprang into Action
Immediately, the community organized. They worked to inform neighbors, especially those working multiple jobs. They created and signed petitions. Families, teachers, and the PTA advocated to stop the process, which had proceeded without public notification or input. The petitions received hundreds of signatures from teachers and parents.
The Bucknell Bulldogs showed up with strength and resolve. Nearly every seat was full in the Bucknell Elementary School (ES) cafeteria at 5:30 pm on July 16th, the hottest day of the year, to hear what Dr. Reid and her staff had to say about a recent discussion about turning their beloved school into a magnet Montessori school in the near future. Over 100 parents, students, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and teachers sat with baited breath, expecting to fight to keep their school as a center of the community, as it has been for generations.
Immediately, the first words from Dr. Reid took some of the air out of the room, as she stated clearly that Bucknell ES was no longer on the list as a Montessori magnet. Instead, if FCPS received the grant, they would try to locate the magnet Montessori in a more central location, at a currently empty school, to ensure that more students had access and to cause less disruption to an active school.
Dr. Reid was deeply apologetic for the poor way the proposal was communicated and for the failure to “involve stakeholders the way we should.” She made it clear that she accepted full responsibility for the debacle. She then addressed the problematic language of the grant and while continuing to take ownership of the problem. She then asked the room, “What are your hopes and dreams for the community?”
Bucknell Community Concerns
To many, it was a breath of fresh air to hear a leader take responsibility and then be open to listening to a crowd of dissatisfied parents and teachers (note: I can count on my fingers the number of times I have heard a leader do that.) It takes guts and grit to take responsibility and then to actively listen to 90 minutes of comments, many of which came from a place of hurt, not only resulting from the Montessori Magnet miscommunication debacle, but from treatment by other schools and parents in the county. The most common themes and comments were as follows (note: Some of Dr. Reid’s responses are in parentheses):
If Bucknell ES is considered “uneconomical” because of its size, what will happen next, and why don’t other families want to join our school? (Response: In the future, it will be necessary to balance under-enrolled and over-enrolled schools to ensure the best education opportunities for students.)
The Montessori grant was written with derogatory language with the intent to desegregate instead of integrate Bucknell ES–we don’t want gentrification through desegregation; we want integration with more students. (Response: The grant was written based on a template from the U.S. Department of Education. Without doubt, the language is bad.) (Note: There are scholarly articles discussing how desegregation (i.e., legally and/or voluntarily stopping the segregation of groups) is not the same as integration (i.e., thoughtful mixing of different groups so as to ensure that "different racial and ethnic groups experience fair and equal treatment within a desegregated environment.") Or as historian and HBCU professor Dr. Jemar Tisby so eloquently states:
"Desegregation is passive. It merely means taking down barriers to let people in. Integration is active. It means taking proactive action to actually incorporate different kinds of people into what you're doing. It’s the difference between leaving a door unlocked, and opening the door, going out into the street, welcoming people in, and then making them feel at home."
Are there nearby schools with overcapacity that can bring up Bucknell’s enrollment numbers? (Response: Yes, the School Board is voting on a revised Policy 8130 that will offer a comprehensive look at all Fairfax County data, but this is not a quick process.)
Our community is safe with kids playing in front yards and at the school. We are a community that looks out for each other. Please don’t change that.
Some people view our school poorly and with negative bias. This hits us hard and the kids even harder. How can we make sure other schools in our pyramid see the great stuff we do here? How can we encourage others to view our school from an asset versus a deficit mindset? Watch the video below to better understand this idea and how to change this mindset, which is influenced by historical stereotypes.
How can we make sure that there is community input on the future boundary guidelines? (Response: There will be a steering committee that will need parents, similar to the Parent Panel from different schools, and we will want those parents to provide feedback back to the community, as well.)
Bucknell ES used to have a lot of programs (e.g., AAP center and FBI mentor program), but they were eliminated with the previous principal. How can we get those programs back to encourage community interest here? (Response: What programs you have here are up to you. Please contact the Regional Superintendent to get support.) ← This was one of the most common comments. Other programs suggested included: immersion, STEAM, AAP center, and financial literacy. Commenters want to “raise up our kids.”
There is bias against great schools like Bucknell ES. A student commented that his dad had wanted him to go to Waynewood ES, which has a better reputation, but he is so happy at Bucknell ES. How can we let others know about our school?
Teachers are often overlooked in offering programming most suited to their school and students. Teachers should have more latitude because they know the community in a way that headquarters does not.
Our teachers are amazing and work so hard for our students. Pay them better, please.
Can we have more community conversations on this side of the county? Maybe even consider hosting School Board meetings in different places because it is hard for parents to drive through rush hour across the county for a 7pm meeting in Falls Church. (Response: Please look out for more regional conversations with Dr. Reid in the Fall and Spring. In the meantime, regional staff can meet more frequently.)
How can we plan for Bucknell ES’s future? (Response: If Policy 8130 is approved, it is a golden opportunity for involvement, because the Superintendent will then need to develop a plan for the future. FCPS needs a map and understanding of the entire county looking at bus routes, school boundaries, number of students, and more. If we don’t do this, then we will continue to double-down on the status quo which means more buses, trailers, and renovations that may not target the schools that are growing.)
Parents, join the Bucknell PTA to keep this conversation moving!
As a bystander, I was impressed by the level of care and thoughtfulness that each community member brought to the conversation. Although some questions and comments were justifiably pointed, Dr. Reid and the community worked together to find common ground, solve problems, and plan for the future of Bucknell ES.
But what really bowled me over was the level of community engagement and care by the Bucknell ES families and staff. In the middle of the summer, during vacations and an abhorrent heat wave, the Bucknell PTA worked to bring as many families to the table as possible. This can be hard in a Title 1 school with families speaking different languages and/or working multiple jobs, but the Bucknell ES community brought over 100 people to the table for a dinner-time meeting.
A Small But Mighty Community Defends its School
If it isn’t obvious, the common theme during the meeting is that Bucknell ES is a superior school where kids take advantage of education opportunities. Bucknell ES has a terrific teacher-to-student ratio (1:9) and is a safe community committed to greatness. The amazing principal, creative and skilled staff, and committed teachers set Bucknell ES apart from so many school experiences that have been shared with me.
The profound love, commitment, and care that these families and staff have for their school must not be ignored by the rest of the parents in the county or FCPS administration.
And as the parents so eloquently said over and over again: focusing on limitations and stereotypes is hurtful. The entire county needs to think about this in the future when they are allocating resources, programming, and students. We all need to overcome our biases toward each other so that we can avoid chaos and harm to our students.
Bucknell ES deserves a voice at the table–its experiences and needs should not be crowded out by larger, wealthier, and more organized communities.
Even though Bucknell ES is small, it is a mighty and courageous community.
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