A Peek Into An Elementary Facilities Task Force Member's Experience
Many community members have been curious about the Elementary Facilities Task Force’s work, and while there are many ways to learn about the specific content, I wanted to share what it’s felt like to me to be a Task Force member. I’m a parent of two little kids (4 and 1.5 years old), a person who found her forever home and community in Lakewood, and a K-12 education professional with 15 years of experience in a wide variety of settings. After more than eight months on this Task Force, I walked home from our last meeting with a mix of emotions: gratitude, relief, and pride.
Gratitude. I cannot be more grateful for the opportunity to serve my community in this capacity and to my incredible fellow Task Force members. I’m also deeply grateful to the Board of Education and our district leadership for inviting community perspective into this process in multiple ways (community meetings, surveys, the task force, individual meetings with community members) - most districts don’t have such an extended, open process. Within the scope of this decision and some constraints (such as maintaining the special education classrooms at Emerson and Horace Mann), I found district leadership to be open to hearing alternative proposals, providing additional data and information, meeting 1:1 with us, and updating analyses.
Relief. This process has been long - we began meeting in August 2024 - and about a topic with no easy answers. In my 15 years in education, I have never seen a school redesign, repurposing, or closure that has been easy, nor have I ever met any educator who views one of these options as anything but a tool of last resort. Emotions run high. The amount of information that goes into a decision like this - educational, operational, financial, community perspectives - is enormous and complex. This is just one decision in a broad ecosystem, and priorities conflict. While I’ve enjoyed this experience immensely, I also know that it’s one that won’t be tied up neatly in a bow.
Pride. I am proud of the work of the Task Force and how we have operated. We didn’t find some magical solution or arrive at a single recommendation that would solve all the challenges identified and satisfy everyone - something we always knew would be impossible. But we, as a group and as individuals, engaged in constructive dialogue with real curiosity, honest disagreement, a willingness to reconsider and evolve our opinions, and a commitment to trying to do what is best for our kids and our community in the long term. That’s the hard, essential work of strong communities and exemplifies the Lakewood that I know, value, and respect so deeply.
As our recommendations move to the Superintendent and Board, I remain confident that no matter what decision is made, our kids - my kids - will still get a top-notch education in a tight-knit school community even if it doesn’t look exactly what I thought it would.
Martha Woerner is a passionate believer in the power of public education to transform lives. She's proud to call Lakewood home for her family of four.
Martha Woerner
Martha Woerner is a passionate believer in the power of public education to transform lives. She's proud to call Lakewood home for her family of four.