Saturday, January 31, 2009

Seattle school closures will separate Somali community

SEATTLE - Fallout from the Seattle Public Schools closure announcement continues tonight.

The Seattle School Board voted last night to close five schools. They will also relocate eight programs, and discontinue five - like the ones at Meany and Cooper elementary.

Upset parents and community members at last night's meeting certainly had their say. But there is one group that wasn't there, although they were very much affected by the cuts.

Suid Ibrahim is a bilingual instruction assistant at Cooper Elementary, a school with more than 40 Somali children enrolled. That's one of the highest concentrations in the city.

Most are refugees who have found comfort in adapting to America together. Starting next school year, many of them will be separated.

"A lot of emotions are going through a lot of people's minds right now," Ibrahim said.

Like all the other children displaced, the 300 children enrolled at Cooper will get their first choice of attending Arbor Heights, Gatewood or Highland Park.

"School closure is the most challenging decision that a school board and a superintendent face and certainly that families and communities face," said Patti Spencer, spokesperson for Seattle Public Schools.

But Somali community activist Yusuf Cabdi says the Somali people, while concerned, have a different take on the closures.

"There's nothing else that can be done," Cabdi said. "Some cuts have to be made and some people will be happy and others will not, but that's the reality of life."

Cabdi works with Somali children who, before coming to America, had never seen a book, or been in a classroom. The district is assuring that bilingual and special instruction teachers will stay on staff.

Cabdi says right now that's all that matters.

"We're a community that gets used to change," Cabdi said. "I mean most of them came from Somalia, they lived in refugee camps, they came to America. Our community, as long as their children can get an education, they are OK with that."

No comments:

Post a Comment