SAVE RIVERSIDE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL!
PLEASE READ AND PASS ON TO OTHERS CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF
RIVERSIDE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, OUR CHILDREN, AND OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE!
Riverside Consolidated School serves the communities of Riverside-Albert, Alma, and surrounding areas from Kindergarten to Grade 5. The Anglophone East School District (AESD) and the District Education Council (DEC) have agreed to a sustainability study of our School supported by Policy 409 (see Government of New Brunswick website at www.gnb.ca/0000/policies.asp – Section 6.4.2 on page 5 of 9).
THIS STUDY COULD LEAD TO THE PERMANENT CLOSURE OF OUR SCHOOL IN JUNE 2015!
The closest available option for our children is Hillsborough Elementary School, which is just not acceptable! Busses, as we know, do not travel in straight lines. Currently, the student with the longest bus ride is from West River to Caledonia Regional High school and travels on the bus for 219 km per day (109.5 km each way). Although we have accepted this reality for our middle and high school students, this is not acceptable for our elementary students who are children ages 4 to 10! Following the current bus route, a kindergarten student living in Alma would travel 68.6 km to Hillsborough Elementary, which trip would take 1 hour and 31 minutes with the absolute minimum number of stops. Elementary students would be on a bus for 3 hours each day! And the Kindergarten to Grade 2 students are in school for only 5 hours each day!
Reasonable access to education is imperative to people who work and live in this region! Our area, home of the UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Reserve, draws people from all over the world to explore and discover. The completion of the $22.8 million Fundy Trail Parkway set for 2018 predicts a huge increase in tourist traffic. Parks Canada is investing millions of dollars into Fundy National Park’s infrastructure, programs, and projects. The New Brunswick government recently completed the new $12 million Forest Dale Nursing Home facility in Riverside-Albert.
With the continued existence of Riverside Consolidated School, our communities can remain strong and vibrant!
We urge you to immediately fill the email inboxes of those listed below with
your support which could be worded as follows:
“We, the parents of current, future, and past students of Riverside Consolidated School, urgently and respectfully request that the Anglophone East School District and District Education Council recognize the impact of denying reasonable access to education in the rural communities of Riverside-Albert, Alma, and surrounding areas.”
[email protected] – Minister for Education & Early Childhood Development
[email protected] – MLA for Albert County
[email protected] – Superintendent Anglophone East School District
[email protected] – Chair District Education Council
[email protected] – Our District Education Council representative
[email protected] – Principal Riverside Consolidated School