Unit 4 School Swap Scrapped

The last update here on the proposed facility swap between Garden Hills and the International Prep Academy was about a strong negative reaction from the community and the Unit 4 administration announcing two listening sessions to hear and address concerns. Additional background information in this January 5th News-Gazette article here. Since then the listening sessions have happened and the Superintendent has announced that the proposal has been scrapped. From an update to a News-Gazette article last night:

Unit 4’s proposed building swap of Garden Hills Elementary and International Prep Academy is off, Superintendent Susan Zola told The News-Gazette on Friday.

"I notified my board earlier today that for now, we're going to discontinue the conversations around moving campuses, and we will focus on each campus in their current location," Zola said.

The decision comes after Zola heard concerns from residents during two “listening sessions” this week.

That updated article, available here, also includes coverage of the first listening session at Garden Hills from the original article. WCCU had additional coverage, including a video segment here.

Zola said her biggest takeaways from the sessions were that families and their children are comfortable in their current schools.

Zola acknowledged the achievement gap that affects mainly African American children at Garden Hills Academy and is hopeful strategic planning can lead to answers...

At Monday’s school board meeting Zola will update the school board on trends like enrollment and provide feedback from the listening sessions on how to move forward.

That full article available here.