Open letter to the BET from Greenwich Schools parents Lara and Harris Damashek
To Whom It May Concern of the BET,
My husband and I live in mid-country Greenwich, and moved here in part because of the reputation of the public schools. Parkway has been our children’s second home for the last four years and we cannot imagine a measure taken as severe as cutting Parkway completely from the Greenwich Public School budget.
We have heard that this idea has been raised as a topic with the BET, and now, more than ever, we fear that an action to eliminate an entire school community would have dire consequences on an already vulnerable population of families. During this unprecedented time, it has become clear to us how strong our Parkway community is – the dedication of the teachers, and staff, and the spirit of the growing parent population, has blown us away, and kept us going from day to day when everything else seems uncertain.
As a parent, and as a professional who has worked in education for my entire career – first as a public school teacher, then as a special education attorney, and now as a parent advocate I am extremely passionate about the need to fund our schools at the elementary age level.
Parkway is a family and now more than ever, we need to rejoin this family with more support than ever from our community.
The thought of telling our children, whose lives have already been turned upside down by Coronavirus, that their school is no longer there (because certain decisions here made about money, and logistics) makes us question the very reason why we moved here – for education, a strong community and for the happiness of our family.
Concerned Parkway parents,
Lara + Harris Damashek