31 August 2021

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To: Pascal_Mubenga@dpsnc.net, Luvenia_Foster@dpsnc.net, boe@dpsnc.net

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Dear Dr. Mubenga and the DPS Board of Education,

I am writing to implore you to *truly* choose a parent/teacher/community-oriented principal for EK Powe Elementary School, not just by your words but by the expectations communicated to prospective candidates and their previous records in this regard. 

I am concerned about your decision to decrease the size of EK Powe's principal selection committee, using Covid as an excuse when virtual meetings/interviews should facilitate more, not less, involvement. I have seen what happens when DPS minimizes the consequential input of parents and teachers in the principal hiring process. My daughter went through 3 principals at Lowe’s Grove [Middle] School, with DPS informing teachers and parents only a couple weeks (in one case, days) before school started. We ended up with a principal who sabotaged *three* attempts to form a PTA, taking proprietorship of the school and running it like a prison, making for an incredibly toxic work and learning environment (the first year, we lost over 23 teachers (most highly regarded in terms of experience and passion) and many previously active families).

Please don’t let this happen to EK Powe.

EK Powe is one of the only walkable *neighborhood* schools in the district; indeed, in the state. It is also a Title-1 school [Correction: EK Powe has 49% Free and Reduced lunch] that buses over half of its student population in. Community involvement is essential to maintaining Powe's positive environment and diverse demographics as well as its uniqueness. DPS contends that community involvement is a major bullet in its to-do list; yet, again and again, the district hires principals who shut down community involvement, even if many are good at making things appear otherwise on the Internet and in public.

Please don’t let this happen to Powe. And do all you can to stop it from happening at other DPS schools.

Sincerely,

Melissa (Rooney)

Powe Parent, Grant-Writer/Implementer, and long-time Student/Teacher Advocate