What’s Right With Our Schools: Alpine Crest Surviving and Thriving
RED BANK, Tenn. (WDEF) – Although some people want to see Alpine Crest Elementary consolidated, it’s still accepting new students. Supporters say it’s a magical place that continues to thrive and a great example of what’s right with our schools.
Shelly Jackson is the Principal at Alpine Crest. Here is what she said about the school:
“Welcome to Alpine Crest Elementary. So, here at Alpine Crest, we serve K-5 Students. We have about 300 students here. And our teachers and our community make this school. The community is so supportive. We collaborate with our Master Gardener Club in our area. And they help service our uh grounds here at the school. And our teachers are just devoted to this community. This neighborhood school is like family. So, you will see people from all, from the community here with walking their dogs after school. They’re out walking. They’re playing on the uh the fields. So, we have 17 acres here. And so, lots of room for our community to come and experience this. We are a level five school here at Alpine Crest, that is because of our parents our students and our teachers. They work so hard to make sure that all students learn in every capacity. We want to make sure that all kids belong and that we value our teachers and we appreciate the support from our parents.”
Megan Hoehn, the parent volunteer coordinator at Alpine Crest, had this to say:
“The school is so sweet. There’s just a real nice connection between the staff and the kids. You feel like you really get to know them versus, you know tons and tons of kids. So, it’s really nice to spend time with them one-on-one and get to know them personally. We understand that you know sometimes it’s a wise choice to consolidate. But we also understand that there’s just so much heart here. It’s just something about this place is special. And the idea of it going away is, it’s a little bit heartbreaking. And I know that the families want it here too. They want their kids to keep coming here. They want their kids’ kids to keep coming here. And I think that they’re willing to put the time in. They volunteer to help keep the grounds nice. They work with our Master Gardeners to take care of the grounds. And do our best to take care of this old building. But they’re doing a pretty good job. You can go to change.org and there’s a petition page for Save Alpine Crest. And you can sign that petition and hopefully if enough people get their voices heard, that maybe we can make something happen.”
Principal Jackson concludes:
“We are open for business here at Alpine Crest. We are taking all students and all children. And we are actually a school choice school; so even if you are not in our zone. We have some open seats and um we have filled most of those seats. But we are going to be here to serve all of our students. We will be here until, the school board tells us that we are consolidating. But we are here and open for business. And we are serving all of our students in our community.”
