It’s a parent’s nightmare. You find out your children’s school has been slated for closure and you have 5 days to save it.

Well, it’s happening to us, parents of Nesbitt Elementary School, a 100-year-old school with a highly respected, 30-year-old French immersion program – a school that draws kids from all over East Montreal.

This is what’s going on. The English Montreal School Board is faced with declining enrollment. So it created a committee to find solutions. Possible scenarios? Closing, merging or moving schools. It produced a 250-page document that proposes closing some 20 schools.

The report was released last week. That’s when Nesbitt learned it was on the list of schools under consideration for closure.

Parents, teachers and students are in shock. There has never been any talk of considering closing Nesbitt in the past. Why would there be? We have 422 students, outstanding teachers, exceptional facilities, all of which are supported by a strong, committed community.

What brings students to Nesbitt? We have the largest and most proven French immersion program in East Montreal. Nesbitt is a pillar of English education in Montreal, and a model for cooperation between the French and English communities.

What’s more, the EMSB just spent HALF A MILLION DOLLARS renovating our school.

It just doesn’t make sense.

JOIN OUR FACEBOOK COMMUNITY Our Facebook page

WRITE ON OUR BLOG: Save Netsbitt