(CNN) - The Barack H. Obama Elementary School in Asbury Park, New Jersey will close its doors July 1st because of low academic achievement and declining enrollment in the district's schools, according to a release from the Asbury Park State Fiscal Monitor's office.
Students at the elementary school, named last year for the president, will attend two other local schools beginning next fall, and School Superintendent Dr. Denise Lowe said the configuration will help improve academic achievement.
"Change is never easy but the district is at a pivotal point where difficult decisions must be made. The consequences of idleness are far greater than the improvisation that is now necessary," Lowe said in a statement Thursday. "While my preference was to restructure the district's schools based on the Pre-K – 3rd grade reform model, I am committed to leading our schools to greater academic achievement no matter the course."
The decision, first reported by the Asbury Park Press, comes after the Asbury Park Board of Education failed to support a plan Lowe proposed to reconfigure elementary grades and keep the Obama school open.
The site will eventually house administrative offices and another school that will relocate at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.
How appropriate that a school named after Obama would close due to low achievement. Obama with his total support of public employee unions is dooming our system of education to more failure. The U.S. spends more on public education than most other nations, yet we get the worst results of all the developed nations. As federal money has increased, and the unions have become more and more powerful, education has grown worse. WI is trying to dig out, but Obama, the democrats, and the public employee unions are going to fight tooth and nail to keep their corrupt deal!
One down, one to go 2012!
Hahahahahahaha......The irony.....This is just too funny!!!
As a school board employee in Florida I can understand the low enrollment. After the 2005 Hurricane season, we lost families right and left due to insurance costs. They are coming back in droves. Hopefully this will happen in NJ. As for the low performance...PARENTS GET INVOLVED. You should be reading to your children everyday. You should be sitting with them during homework. Turn off the reality shows and be a parent.
Right Wing attack on education to keep the future voters dumb and dumb is in effect here.
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
This is no surprise now is it!
The school will close but the history of President Barack Obama will always be engraved in stone and in the minds of our children.
How ironic. Anything connected with Obummie fails.
This NOT good news at all. The inspiration birthed from the ideas of Good chnage from the president seems to be dying by the day. Closing a kidz learning facility named after Mr. OBAMA just adds salt the injuries of his once great character. Seriously, i hope he acts and keep his name alive in NJ.
if the children are not doing good, its the fault of their parents, community, and the people hiring the teachers at the school. Great coach makes a great player. A good teacher can turn a learner of limited knowledge into a wonderful philosopher. The district board of education in that area should try to do better than closing down barack h obama elementry, maybe fire themselves and hire someone better to run thing that benefit the school. No need closing children educational building upon the failure of those in charge. Get a new driver to run the bus instead of telling the kids onboard to jump off and find a new vehicle into their destinations!!!
Typo: find a new vehicle to get to their intellectual destinations (dreams).
Is it any surprise given the namesake. Rumor has it that the school installed a socialist grading program in honor of the President wherein the kids achieving a grade of “A” would have to give up a portion of that grade to those kids earning “D’s” and “F’s”. Eventually, the higher achieving kids got tired of working hard for C’s and B’s and gave up, bringing down the entire school.
This is like blood in the water for the right. I'm sure they'll have fun with this one. I know I would if "Bush Middle School" was closing. Have fun.
Oh this is so ironic. Actually schools should not be named for any president while he is still in office.