DENVER - Denver parents will get to hear more about a controversial proposal from Denver Public Schools that would merge the ninth grades at Manual High School and East High School.
"I'm just sad that they're thinking about ripping apart that school," Kelly Westergren, parent of two East High students, said.
The proposal would combine the ninth-grade classes at both schools into a single ninth-grade run by East and housed at Manual as a Ninth Grade Academy.
Westergren says she knows a lot of parents are upset with this idea.
"I don't think it's fair to the community that purchased property in a certain demographic area for the schools," Westergren said. "We want to support our neighborhood school."
In a letter to parents, principal of East High School, Andy Mendelsberg, said the proposal is in the very early stages of discussion and no decisions will be made for at least a year.
"I feel the idea is worth considering because it has the potential to extend the quality educational programs at East to more students and to create new and improved opportunities for East students," Mendelsberg said in the letter to East High School parents.
Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said in a letter to Manual High School parents that the district is trying to address the declining enrollment at Manual.
Boasberg said in the letter that fewer than 75 students plan to enroll in ninth grade at Manual this fall.
But, some Manual students say this idea will impact Manual's identity.
"I really don't like it because it's gonna end the T-Bolt legacy," Savanna Jones, freshman at Manual, said. "I feel like nobody wants that to happen like Alumni. We all want to be Thunderbolts."
Jones says the district should find a solution to bolstering enrollment at Manual like adding feeder schools to the Manual area.
Rmari Fischer is also a freshman at Manual. She says the solution is not changing the program for the third time in the last eight years.
"They keep changing Manual and not letting it try or having enough time to succeed," Fischer said. "They should just let Manual be Manual and not change it."
If the proposal to merge the ninth grades passes, students would then have the option to choose from two different programs for 10 to 12th grades. Manual will offer a Science, Technology, Engineer and Math (STEM) high school experience. East would continue with its current comprehensive high school experience, according to Boasberg.
The community meeting will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. at East High School in the auditorium. All families are being encouraged to attend and voice their opinions on the proposal.
Westergren says she will be there to fight for her school.
"It doesn't matter where they're bussing them," Westergren said. "I don't believe they should be bussed."
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