It's time to move Leonardo da Vinci

Although, there is support on the school board to reconfigure Leonardo da Vinci High School from a 9-12 grade to a 5-12 grade model as North District Rep. Jason McCarthy advocated, the other option is a 7th to 12th grade reconfiguration at the renovated Grover High School. The building is shaped like the letter "Y" possibly could incorporate a model to house the junior high school on one side and the high school on the other. This an opportunity for the Buffalo Board of Education to move the Leonardo da Vinci High School located in a cramped space in a former residential hall at D'Youville College to the newly renovated Grover Cleveland  High School. The board should stand by its own resolution passed back in April 2011 not to renew the lease at D'Youville College. And State Ed folks will not continue to fund it at $857k, the chief financial officer reported at finance and operations committee meeting last Wednesday, October 17. While students at da Vinci have access to the college, it is limited to the library, gym, pool and for classes on campus for the few students enrolled in courses for college credit. On a personal level, when my daughter attended da Vinci she was not allowed in the college book store though she wanted to buy school supplies there. She didn't have access to the college cafeteria that served better food. Students should have more access to the D'Youville College campus, including any study-abroad programs. If the mission of da Vinci is to prepare students for college why not provide to them the experience by opening up the college campus, especially to many students coming from families where they are the first to attend higher education? I told my daughter a former graduate of da Vinci about the plans to to move the school. She responded, "oh great, now the students can breathe!" "It was so cramped for us in what used be a dormitory,"she said. Secondly, Grover is within walking distance to the college so students still can take courses for credit there. Thirdly, the building at Grover is larger with a capacity to enroll 900 students instead of 299 at the D'Youville site. This will allow the district to provide access to a college preparatory curriculum to more students meeting the criterion for admissions at da Vinci from International Prep and Early Middle College, as well as, other students during open enrollment. Finally, the board has an opportunity to not only to  continue Leonardo da Vinci, but to expand this innovative high school in one of its own buildings, providing access to a high performing school  to an ethnically diverse student population on  the West side It's cost effective and students will have ample space to participate in traditional high school activities not available to them in the cramped space at D'Youville College. It's time to go home for da Vinci to a renovated Grover now called Leonardo da Vinci High School. Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4