Orleans Parish Schools superintendent, Fateama Fulmore, announced during a community meeting at Fannie C. Williams Charter School in New Orleans East that she will recommend the school close and merge with another under the ReNEW Schools charter management organization.
Fulmore said she is choosing to recommend this school consolidation because Fannie C. Williams is underperforming academically and the district as a whole faces decreased enrollment.
“Over the next three years, we are going to be faced with really tough decisions to make concerning the state of our schools,” Fulmore said. “I want to be real with you. We are in very, very tough times in public education, and we’re going to be here for about three years.”
The proposal includes moving Schaumburg Elementary, a ReNEW school, into the Fannie C. Williams building. Current Fannie C. Williams students would have guaranteed spots at Moton Lakefront Elementary, also under the ReNEW umbrella, or parents could apply to keep their children in the Fannie C. Williams building as Schaumburg Elementary students.
Parents and community members expressed frustration and sadness over the announcement Thursday night.
“What we’re tired of is decisions being made by a few in the dark and it being presented to us like we have options. Which, it seems like we don’t have options,” one community member said during public comment. Another asked, “What is the process when a school is not doing what they supposed to do? Do we just talk numbers, , or do we get up and come in and help?”
Stephanie P. Gibson, an interventionist at Fannie C. Williams who helps students with math and reading, was emotional after the meeting ended.
“If I ever have to leave out here, I’m going to leave out kicking and scratching,” Gibson said. “I could do this job for free at this school … I was hoping that they would listen to us. Just give us a voice. Not have your decision already made, and then listen to us when we have no impact.”
The future of the staff at Fannie C. Williams remains uncertain, as ReNEW Schools will decide their fate if the school board approves the proposal. The Orleans Parish School Board is set to consider the superintendent’s recommendations for school closures and consolidations in December.
READ MORE:Orleans Parish superintendent to recommend closing Fannie C. Williams Charter School
