Parents and community react to potential school, building closures within RCSD restructuring

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester City School District announced Tuesday the plan to reconfigure the district.

Superintendent Carmine Peluso says the plans are meant to streamline in the face of declining enrollment.

Eleven schools and five buildings may be closing as part of the plan. Some of the buildings will reopen with a new name and a new student body.

News10NBC’s Hailie Higgins talked with a number of parents and community members. Many were pretty shocked and a little confused on the details. There are a lot of moving parts, and details are still rolling out. The biggest concern for everyone News10NBC talked to: making sure their kids are getting the best education possible.

Wilson Foundation Academy currently serves kindergarten through eighth grade. Next year, it may only cater to middle schoolers. Sekine Anderson has a daughter there.

“She hasn’t had any problems, and I love this school — she’s been here since kindergarten,” Anderson said.

Next year, Anderson may need to send her daughter somewhere else, as she’ll be assigned a school based on where she lives.

“This is one of the best schools; she’s been here since the beginning, so I really have no idea where I would send my child,” she said.

Brandy Summers currently has a child at Rise Community School No. 106.

“I think they’re doing great. I really do. I met my daughter’s teacher, lovely teacher,” Summers said.

School 106 is set to close completely after this school year.

“I’m like in initial shock right now,” Summers said.

Summers says she’s considering applying to a charter school.

“I just want my daughter to get the best education, and my son to get the best of the best education, every child to get the best education,” she said.

In her neighborhood, several other schools are on the closure list. School 29 will also be closing for good. The building will be turned over to the city. A few minutes away, Clara Barton School No. 2 is also on the chopping block.

“It brought the community together. From the staff, the teachers, the parents in that neighborhood, the students — everyone was like a family,” she said.

If School 2 closes, School 25 — currently on Scio Street — will move into School 2’s old building on Reynolds Street.

Ailanda Martinez lives in Corn Hill. She went to School 2 as a child, and plans on sending her future kids through the city school district.

“The word around town is that it’s not the best education system, but I would say that those teachers don’t give up on the students; those teachers work hard with the parents to get everything met in unison,” Martinez said.

Other parents News10NBC talked with today stressed how important they think education is — and that they hope their kids don’t get left behind in the shuffle.

The Board of Education vote on the reconfiguration plan will take place Oct. 19.