Thursday may be our last chance!
The Rutherford County School Board will vote on its admissions policies for CAMS at the Aug. 13 Board Meeting. The proposed policy does not give equal and fair admissions opportunity for all Rutherford County students. The latest proposal no longer includes the sibling policy, but it still grandfathers in every McFadden student who is in the school as of Dec. 1 of this year, so long as they meet the minimum entrance requirements. Meanwhile, all other admits into the school will be merit-based only, and only the top scorers will be admitted. As such, you can -- and will -- have a great disparity between the grandfathered students and those admitted based upon merit.
Steven Chappell attended the work session. He has posted a transcript of the CAMS admission proposal discussion from that meeting on his blog. Please read it if you can to assist you in rebutting some of the arguments board members have made for supporting this policy.
Please contact school board members via phone calls and e-mails, and attend Thursday's meeting if at all possible, to help ensure that your child has equal and fair access to a magnet school education for middle and high school. Discovery School PTA is working with several other PTAs and welcomes the help of any parents. Contacts in other schools will be greatly appreciated.
What you can do to help!
We are asking every parent to e-mail and call the Board of Education members. The subject heading in the e-mail needs to say "Fair and Non-Discriminatory CAMS admissions" to show a unified front. The e-mail needs to state the author's feelings and if possible refer back to fairness. Since the meeting and vote is Thursday, we have to get the e-mails and calls done ASAP.
We need volunteers to hold posters supporting fair and equitable admissions where the board can see them at the meeting. Students may want to hold the sign for bigger impact. That's great, too. Please let Vanessa Smythia b.smythia@comcast.net know if you are interested in holding a sign.
The Rutherford County School Board Meeting and the vote are on Thursday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m. Be early to the meeting on Thursday. Arrive by 4:30 if you wish to speak.
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