Draylen Mason Studio
Save Pease
RECEIVED Mon., Nov. 4, 2019
Dear Editor,
I am a licensed architect and Pease parent. I have been working with the Save Pease team and helped them work through a feasibility for the site to expand. If AISD does choose to consider this as an option, it does work both according to AISD adopted Education Specifications and city of Austin adopted codes; please see our website www.savepease.org for our response to their concerns along with our proposal.
Today we have proposed the following revision request and hope our engagement will be taken seriously by AISD staff. We have a strong community and hope it will be allowed to stay together or at minimum afforded the time other schools are being provided to discuss options.
High-Level Scenario Revision Requests: These are in the order of our preference and not cumulative.
1) Keep Pease Open: Align Pease with an Eastside vertical team. Rework the transfer process at Pease to guarantee socioeconomic balance, use the school as pK-4 through 5th and allow us to run a pilot project that focuses on civic engagement. We have commitment from state Rep. Gina Hinojosa to work with our students on this path. We are unsure which Eastside vertical team yet as we don’t want to force our community on to them or vice versa, but we feel confident we can work it through.
2) Provide Additional Time: Provide Pease at minimum one additional year to work with our community and outside communities to find a place we can move together. Again, allowing for time to respectfully integrate.
We are not adamant about expanding the campus but wanted to provide AISD with options. They tasked us to co-create and reimagine what our school could be; we took this to heart. We believe in public education and have put out a proposal that we feel strengthens it in Austin. We hope AISD will take the time to explore what is possible with us. Ultimately, option 1 above is what the great majority of our community is hoping for; it increases state funding, cuts costs, and takes advantage of an amazing opportunity to work with the Capitol Complex in a civics engagement program.
We have full responses to the points they raise and their assertions that the campus cannot be added to. See www.savepease.org to download our proposal and response.
We would love to work with AISD staff to craft a mutually beneficial future and hope they invite us to the table to do just that.
I am a licensed architect and Pease parent. I have been working with the Save Pease team and helped them work through a feasibility for the site to expand. If AISD does choose to consider this as an option, it does work both according to AISD adopted Education Specifications and city of Austin adopted codes; please see our website www.savepease.org for our response to their concerns along with our proposal.
Today we have proposed the following revision request and hope our engagement will be taken seriously by AISD staff. We have a strong community and hope it will be allowed to stay together or at minimum afforded the time other schools are being provided to discuss options.
High-Level Scenario Revision Requests: These are in the order of our preference and not cumulative.
1) Keep Pease Open: Align Pease with an Eastside vertical team. Rework the transfer process at Pease to guarantee socioeconomic balance, use the school as pK-4 through 5th and allow us to run a pilot project that focuses on civic engagement. We have commitment from state Rep. Gina Hinojosa to work with our students on this path. We are unsure which Eastside vertical team yet as we don’t want to force our community on to them or vice versa, but we feel confident we can work it through.
2) Provide Additional Time: Provide Pease at minimum one additional year to work with our community and outside communities to find a place we can move together. Again, allowing for time to respectfully integrate.
We are not adamant about expanding the campus but wanted to provide AISD with options. They tasked us to co-create and reimagine what our school could be; we took this to heart. We believe in public education and have put out a proposal that we feel strengthens it in Austin. We hope AISD will take the time to explore what is possible with us. Ultimately, option 1 above is what the great majority of our community is hoping for; it increases state funding, cuts costs, and takes advantage of an amazing opportunity to work with the Capitol Complex in a civics engagement program.
We have full responses to the points they raise and their assertions that the campus cannot be added to. See www.savepease.org to download our proposal and response.
We would love to work with AISD staff to craft a mutually beneficial future and hope they invite us to the table to do just that.
Respectfully,
April Clark
April Clark
