The Blue and White Sing our praise to Blue and White
Hail, Dondero, Hail!
Raise with gladsome voice on high,
May we never fail.
Years may come and years may go,
Our hearts for�ere shall be
True and faithful to the end.
All hail, all hail to thee!
Breaking out in a feeling of school spirit, I returned to my alma mater tonight to celebrate (and mourn) my high school's very last homecoming game. Ever.
Thanks to school board greed and politics, Dondero High School will no longer exist after the class of 2006 graduates. For the '06-'07 school year and on, the building will be used as a "super-middle school," housing all middle school students in the district. As for the high school students, they are being sent to what will be known as Royal Oak High School (and formerly known as Kimball.)
I have been *this* close to writing a letter to the editor of The Daily Tribune voicing my opinion on the matter and to urge voters to vote 'NO' on the upcoming bond issue in November. As usual, the board is using the argument that "if you really cared about education, you'd approve this bond" which I find complete bullshit. I am certainly all for education, and that is why I will vote no for the bond. If this bond passes, the board, as I stated earlier, wants to close my high school and consolidate all the students into one big high school. In addition to that, they are going to consolidate all of the middle school students and place them into one big school, my former high school.
On top of all that, they want to close all of the elementary schools in the south end of the city, leaving three open in the entire city. Then they will tear down one of the schools and build a new, state of the art super elementary school. Of course, they are doing this in the north end of the city. So, while all the northend students will get a chance to walk to school or at least live near their school, all of the southend students will have to be bussed back and forth every day.
Does anyone else see how ridiculous this is? Maybe you would if you knew that the land they want to build the new super elementary school on is in an incredibly awkward, rather inaccessible area situated between two very busy main roads. Out of the schools in the southend they want to close, I can think of two that have far more space and are far more easily accessible. Maybe you would see how ridiculous it all is if you knew about the ongoing fued that started years ago between the southend residents and the northend residents. The fued, being fueled by claims that the northenders are far superior in every way based on their property values, average yearly income, student test scores, etc. Truth is, when comparing numbers, the two ends are really quite close, you're almost splitting hairs in some categories. But, the fued continues, spreading from generation to generation, leaving us with this battle we have going on here now. The far superior northenders feel they shouldn't be put out by the whole consolidation bit, and therefore, are arguing that everything should be located north of Twelve Mile rd.
And so, I sit here, giving myself a headache just thinking about how stupid the whole plan is. And thinking about how much more stupid the board is for thinking that their plan is actually taking the students needs into consideration? Can you remember what things were like in junior high? I can. It had to be the most uncomfortable two years in my entire life. I believe I was severely depressed for a majority of it, and I know I wasn't the only one. Can you imagine cramming an entire districts worth of middle school kids (grades 6-8) into one massive building that was once a high school? That many kids at that age crammed into that building will only lead to trouble. Think of how many kids will be put out having to get on a bus twice a day, every day, just to get to school when there is an abandoned school two blocks away from their house. What happens when a bus goes down? What happens to those kids when they're late because the replacement bus took so long?
Yes, I know at that point I'm stretching things a little bit too far, but don't think its not going to happen at some point. What the board is doing is dangerous. It hasn't been so long since I graduated to understand what it would feel like, being crammed into a building with that many other students. How unfair would things become when classes and sports teams and their massive sizes become a burden to everyone. I am also far enough removed from the whole ordeal to realize that the plans the board is making will not make this a city in which I would want to raise kids. Their plan, with which they believe they will attract young families back into the district, is actually scaring them away with the uncertainty of what will happen.
I suppose I should step off my soap box at this point...
Dondero High School, 1930. Three years after opening.
Most recent view of the school I could find. I wish it wasn't taken in the middle of winter...when the trees in front are full, the school looks gorgeous.
I'd like to thank D. Penny for the images I've posted. To find out more about my school and its history, check out his website.
And vote "No" in November, if you live in Royal Oak.