GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A new and improved Erwin Montessori will open on the site of Archer Elementary School, meaning Archer will no longer exist.
"Archer will never open again as Archer," Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras said at the Guilford County Board of Education Retreat over the weekend. "It's a Montessori school so these students will be offered permanent choice, this entire area will become a choice area."
Archer Elementary will close as a neighborhood school and will be fully renovated as a Montessori magnet, replacing the old Erwin Montessori.
This switch-up is a part of implementing the $300 million school bond passed by Guilford County voters in November. That money will go toward rebuilding, renovating, repairing and completely closing some schools.
The district said to ensure student safety and speed up the construction process, students at Archer, Foust and Claxton elementary schools may need to be relocated to other area buildings during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.
"The suggestion is at the moment to send parents an offer letter to choice into area schools and do so immediately within the next few weeks," a Cooperative Strategies consultant said on Saturday in reference to Archer Elementary. The consulting firm first presented the $2 billion master facilities plan in November 2019 that laid out a complete overhaul of the district.
Many parents and concerned community members contacted WFMY News 2, saying they were blindsided.
"I remember the facilities plan, and I remember the renovations," Sade Edwards said. "What I do not remember is it saying that Archer will no longer exist."
Those words aren't explicitly stated. Erwin Montessori (Archer site) is listed on the master facilities plan published in 2019 as a 'Full Renovation.' Archer will be renovated into a different school. A district spokesperson said more information on Archer can be found on pages 61 & 62 of the plan.
"This has been a cruel situation to throw on top of what everyone has gone through in education with the coronavirus," former Archer teacher Bruce Mitchell said. "These kids, their lives are going to be torn up even further when they can't return to a school they love."
Those who reached out to our newsroom don't understand why Erwin Montessori can't be rebuilt at its own location.
"Anytime children are involved, parents should have a say," Edwards said. "I don't remember them ever reaching out and saying, 'Hey this is what we're thinking about.'"
Many who live in the Archer community walk to school, so Edwards said attending nearby schools is not a viable solution.
"There must be a better way and it doesn't seem like the due diligence has been done in terms of talking to the community," Mitchell added.
People who oppose the elimination of Archer will be holding a rally on March 8 at 5 p.m. The Guilford County Board of Education will vote on the beginning stages of its facilities plan on March 9.
Parents can email board members with questions and concerns ahead of that meeting.
A district spokesperson said the information regarding Archer is nothing new, but plans are now being set in motion.
"District eight is primarily where we were making many of those schools a full choice district," Contreras said on Saturday. "Because that’s the area where families requested the most choice so giving families more power, and more freedom to choose by having regional schools in those areas.”
Archer is not the only school that will be prioritized in the overhaul of the district. The district said it will focus on the schools with the greatest need during the first phase of bond construction. Land purchases for all phases are also included. The projects are:
- Hampton-Peeler Elementary, which will be rebuilt at the Peeler site as a county-wide and neighborhood performing arts magnet
- Archer Elementary, which will close as a neighborhood school and will be fully renovated as a Montessori magnet, replacing Erwin Montessori
- Peck Elementary, which will be rebuilt as a regional K-8 expeditionary learning magnet
- Foust Elementary, which will be rebuilt on site
- Brooks Global Studies, which will be rebuilt at the old Craven School site
- A new K-8 school in the southwest area, which will include a STEM center for regional use
- Claxton Elementary, which will be rebuilt on site
- Kiser Middle, which will be rebuilt on the Grimsley/Kiser campus