Photos & Video: Meeting About West End School
The Committee to Save West End Primary School held a community town hall meeting yesterday [July 25] at the Somerset Cricket Club to “determine the next steps needed to preserve the historic Sandys educational institution.”
This follows after the Government announced on Thursday [July 22] that eight school sites will be “discontinued as public primary schools during a phased roll-out”.
A spokesperson for the Committee previously said, “Despite community outcry and a growing list of persons opposed to the government’s plan to close our school, it appears that they will be moving forward with their plan to erase the history and legacy of a school that has contributed to the educational excellence of our community,”
“The key issues laid out by the committee to justify the government changing course on their plan include:
- Expanding the criteria for the decision beyond physical elements
- Recognizing that there is no size disadvantage between West End Primary and the government’s preferred site at Somerset Primary
- The need to preserve the 153-year history of West End Primary School as the hub of the Sandys community and its legacy of:
- Hosting community organizations, such as the Brownies
- A multi-generational culture of mutual mentoring and support of community families and
- Consistently supporting our community businesses.
- A community source of pride for overcoming generations of government neglect and racism
The spokesperson concluded, “Preserving West End Primary doesn’t merely honour our proud legacy but will ensure that its vision of empowering all our Sandys children never dies,”