“I expected them to be angry, angry at me, angry at the whole university,” Allen said. “The ‘Where are we heading?’ is a good question, a fair question. We probably aren’t at a place where we can give them good answers.”
There's nothing like a plan without an actual plan - and that is exactly what I feel happening with Ben Allen's plan to close Malcolm Price Laboratory School.
Price Lab school is truly a remarkable establishment, teaching nearly 400 students - Kindergarten through twelfth grade - all in one building. It has served as the principal location for the training of new teachers since 1954, allowing students from the University of Northern Iowa to have first hand teaching and learning experience working with Price Lab's diverse body of students. Just in the last year, Price Lab was in the process of becoming Iowa's Research and Development School, further heightening it's importance to a broader community as a place of learning and innovation. While it may be small for it's size, it is home to an incredibly talented family of students and teachers. There is no denying Price Lab's immense list of accomplishments, both past and present. It is a school that has excelled in academics, sports, education, and the arts.
This is not a simple matter that will affect only current students and faculty at Price Lab. It will have an effect on the local and national level. Price Lab has been the site of important research that has been used across the country for years to further our understanding of public education, and the training of new teachers.
Students have traveled from across our Nation to enroll at the University of Northern Iowa, because they know it will provide them with superior training to become the teachers and educators of tomorrow. I believe this move to shut down Price Lab will also negatively effect their admissions, and in return their finances.
But for myself and countless other students - both past and present - this school is so much more.
Price Lab is...
The place where I received all of my educational training,
The spot where I formed some of my most cherished friendships and bonds,
The cite of challenges that have shaped me as a person,
Those walls, seeped in history and a strong community,
The theatre, so vibrant and alive it has empowered those who needed it for generations,
My frustrations,
My epiphanies,
My refuge,
My home.
How can you take away my home?
What about all the students, where will they go? How will the public school system be able to handle this sudden avalanche of school less children?
What about the entire faculty and staff? Where will they go? How will they find new jobs to support their families?
"It’s unknown how many job losses may result from the school’s closure"
was what University of Northern Iowa's President Ben Allen said to that.
The "reason" for this madness?
BUDGET CUTS.
I'm sorry, but do they honestly expect us to sit back and understand that they are being brilliantly frugal taking away the educational opportunities of 400 students!?
Oh yeah, there's nothing like weakening our already inefficient education system...
I now turn to you, the readers, the thinkers, the citizens of this society to not sit back and blindly let this action go through,
but to step up and question this action.
please
Here is the link to a petition that may prevent the shutdown of Price Lab if it receives enough signatures. Signing is simple, takes only a few minutes, but has the power to positively impact hundreds.
More information regarding this situation can be found on the website. Other action can be taken by contacting Iowa's state legislature and telling them that this is a faulty, unwise decision.
Thank you very much, your voice can help us make a change in this matter.
