Parents are rallying around schools eyed for closure, but teachers such as Carrie Gelson are equally concerned judging from an impassioned email she sent me stressing the importance of Seymour elementary, located at 1130 Keefer St.

VSB statistics indicate the school's population is 141, with room for 445, putting it at 32 per cent of its capacity. A staff report, which lists Seymour among those being considered for closure, also mentioned that there comes a point when enrolment is so low that it hurts a school's learning environment.

Gelson not only teaches at Seymour, but her husband is a teacher and their children attend Dickens annex--another school being considered for closure.

Her email, however, centred on Seymour. She questions VSB enrolment figures, pointing out the school's "outbuilding" is closing due to budget cuts. That will force some classes into the main school, which means Seymour won't have as much empty space this September. "So, now in one building, we hardly have the capacity for 445 children. I know public opinion reacts to these capacity numbers when they are under 50 per cent and I think it is important to note that capacity numbers need to be looked at again now that outbuildings are closed," she wrote.

Gelson is also troubled by the suggestion that students' learning environment can be harmed by low enrolment, arguing visitors to Seymour would be "blown away" by what the students can do in reading, writing and math. "Our learning environment is not harmed by a small population, it is enhanced by it. We face a number of challenges to learning conditions that the children bring with them daily--poverty, neglect, abuse, effects of addictions, violence in the home, bedbug bites etc. etc. It is precisely because we are a small school that we can communicate so well with each other and remain on top of the needs of our children," she wrote.

"I hate to see what will happen to my students if they are housed in a school of over 500 students where many of their needs may be overlooked and not addressed. When the social emotional needs of these children are not addressed, that is where the learning stops. So few people have any real idea of what life looks like in our school every day and the extreme needs of these children. School teaches them, feeds them, comforts them and loves them. Seymour school is the centre of their lives. It is a happy place."

IN WITH THE NEW

Two new associate superintendents have been named for the Vancouver school district--Dr. Jordan Tinney and Maureen Ciarniello. They replace senior managers Gary Little and Sonia Hutson, who are retiring, and Lynn Green who's leaving the district to become CEO of the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education in Vancouver.

Tinney has spent the last four years as superintendent in Comox Valley. He's particularly interested in the use of technology for teaching and learning, according to a press release announcing his appointment. Tinney has a doctorate in philosophy (in curriculum studies), a master of education (educational administration), a bachelor of education (elementary), a professional teaching certificate and standard teaching certificate from University of Victoria.

Ciarniello has worked in the West Vancouver school district, serving as assistant superintendent in learning and instructional services over the past several years. She holds a bachelor of music, a professional teaching certificate from UBC and a master's in education from UBC.

noconnor@vancourier.com