Is this Hampton Street's Last "First Day of Classes"?

A bittersweet excitement filled the air Tuesday morning as the Hampton Street school opened its doors for the first day of classes.

"I heard from some parents over the summer that the kids couldn't wait to get back," principal Dr. Sue Caryl Fleischmann said. "Hampton's a real happy place to be."

While hoards of excited children poured out of the buses, hurriedly waiving goodbye to their parents as they ran to see their friends and teachers they missed all summer, many realize that this may be the last such opening day scene they may see at the school.

"We all love Hampton Street," a parent of second and fourth grade students said, declining to give her name. "We're like a family here."

Most families of Hampton Street students live in the same neighborhood as the school and many parents opt to drive or walk their students to school each day, foregoing the school bus. "Parents are here constantly," Fleischmann said. "Whatever activities we have, they're always here."

It is exactly that kind of neighborhood feeling that many parents fear will disappear under the proposed district reconfiguration. If voters pass the initiative, the Hampton Street school could be shut down and converted for use as the district central office. The Meadow Drive and Cross Street schools are also facing closure.

"That would be a huge disappointment if this was the last first day; I think all the parents would feel like that," one first grade parent said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed that it won't be."

For one parent, the biggest concern is the school to which her child might be moved. The Willis Avenue school is proposed to take some students should Hampton Street be closed, but concerns are that it does not have a playground. "My first grader needs to run and they need to learn how to pump their legs on the swing," the first grade parent said. "Recess socialization is just as important as five hours in the classroom." The board of education has proposed a rooftop playground be added to Willis Avenue as part of a $6.7 million bond to finance the reconfiguration.

Some parents chose to be honest with their children about the possibility of switching schools. A parent of second and fourth graders said she was surprised with how well her kids took the news. "Kids don't think about it as seriously as parents do," she said.

But her kids do have one concern: "Of course they're all worried about losing their friends," she said. "I don't know how prepared I can get them for that."

The vote for the new school bond is set for October 26th.

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