PTA says Rhoda playing with children?s education

~ Furious over planned school closure ~

CUL DE SAC--Sr. Magda School's Parent Teachers Association (PTA) says Education Minister Rhoda Arrindell is "playing with the education and future of children" by authorising the closure of elementary schools for two days.

"It is mindboggling to read your letter, as we just lost four school days due to the industrial action of the teachers to secure their rightful cost of living payment. Your harsh "no work no pay" stance cannot rhyme with your subsequent letter of yesterday, closing down all elementary schools for two whole days," the PTA said in a letter to Minister Arrindell on Thursday.

The PTA said it was in "complete shock and dismay" to be informed of a letter from the Minister, dated February 9, "informing all school board members of an upcoming two-day closure of all elementary schools.

"You have granted permission to close all elementary schools on February 17 and 18 to accommodate the teachers to participate in the ASCD [Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development] annual conference.

"Let us remind you that this school year alone, all civil servants (including all teachers) already received three extra and unscheduled days off, namely: October 11, November 12 and January 3. On top of that there was no school for five days due to the passing of Hurricane Earl. Add to that the four days of strike and your planned two days next week and this results in a loss of classes of 14 full days (almost three whole weeks of classes)," the PTA said.

"The PTA of Sister Magda Primary School sincerely believes that you, as our Minister of Education, are playing with the education and the future of our children. The students who are in the sixth grade (group 8) already have to do their secondary school entry exams one month earlier than last year. Taking away almost another month of classes and preparation time puts them in a severely disadvantaged position.

"We certainly expect differently from you as Minister and strongly urge you to reconsider your letter and planned school closure," the PTA said. "We are absolutely in favour of upgrading and training our teachers, but urge you to schedule these events outside school hours to prevent any further damage to an already very disrupted and disturbed school year."

The Association said since its last letter concerning another possible school closure to accommodate the Census 2011 "went completely unacknowledged" by the minister's office, it decided to send its latest letter to her simultaneously to both newspapers in St. Maarten, "hoping to receive a swift reaction or response" from her this time.

Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/13583-pta-says-rhoda-playing-with-childrens-education.html

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