District faces questions about planned merger of Kensington schools

STUDENTS, teachers and activists voiced opposition last night to a plan to close one Kensington high school and merge students into another school in the same building.

The testimony came during a public hearing before the School Reform Commission on the school district's proposal to close Kensington Urban Education Academy and consolidate it with Kensington International Business, Finance and Entrepreneurship. Officials cited low student demand and poor academic performance.

Addressing about 50 people inside the auditorium of Kensington Urban, a number of speakers acknowledged that the schools need improvement, but urged the district to preserve the small-school setting. Some suggested a community-schools model, which incorporates social services and other programs.

"Urban needs to stay a small school," said Kensington Urban student Rachel Bickel. "We do deserve a better education, but closing our school is not the answer. That would give us more problems."

Trevor Angelucci, a teacher at Kensington Business for the past eight years, said the merger would only increase distrust between students and educators. He also criticized the district for rushing the process and excluding the community.

"We were told that the process should have been started a long time ago and that all elements will not be completely in place come September," Angelucci said. "We were also told how atrocious conditions were during a district walk-through last May.

"If it was documented how bad things were last May, I ask, why wasn't this process started then?"

District staff also faced questions from SRC members about why it recommended merging the schools rather than keeping both open or going to a Renaissance-charter model.

Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Logan said combining the schools would provide a wider variety of courses and more-rigorous programs, while also honoring students' wishes to retain certain teachers.

"It really is just about having more teachers teaching more subjects," Logan said.

Preliminary discussions have taken place about adding more career and technical-education tracks, and establishing a college-prep academy and a twilight program for undercredited students, according to documents distributed at the meeting.

Kensington Business is one of three smaller high schools created in 2004 - along with Kensington Creative and Performing Arts and Kensington Health Sciences - when the district closed Kensington High School, which had been plagued by violence and dismal graduation rates. Kensington Urban opened in 2010.

The SRC is scheduled to vote on the proposal June 18.

Several teachers who sat toward the back of the auditorium but were mainly silent during the meeting said afterward that they had serious doubts about the district's plan.

"Somebody's not telling us the whole truth," said Beth Gordon, a teacher at Kensington Business, who said she initially supported the merger. "And I was OK with it. Not now, not now."