The Maynooth Schools Group Press Release On Campaign To Reject The Two School Model That The Minister And KWETB Plan

kildare | education | press release Monday December 02, 2013 20:52 by Steve

Public Meeting Tonight (Dec 2nd)

Below is a statement released by the Maynooth Schools Group this morning. We are
having a public meeting tonight (2nd December) to formally commence the campaign to
reject the two school model that the Minister and KWETB plan to implement in
Maynooth. Indymedia are more than welcome to come along.

Our facebook is https://www.facebook.com/MaynoothSchoolsGroup for more information.

The Maynooth Schools Group met last night and have reviewed all that has happened to
date regarding the new school in Maynooth.

We have decided that we completely and formally reject the proposals of the Minister
for Education and Skills, Mr Ruairi Quinn and the KWETB's plans of implementation to
build two fully vertical and separate schools on the same site in our town.

hat Deputy Emmet Stagg TD, last week on KFM radio, in his debate with Catherine
Murphy TD described as a 'new experiment' by the Department of Education (which IF
successful will be repeated on a national basis), is completely unacceptable to us
and the people we represent. This experiment is contrary to the expressed preference
of parents of our area.

Tonight at our Public Meeting at 8pm in the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, we will be
allowing parents time and space to express their concerns.

The Podcasts of the interviews with Catherine Murphy TD, Emmet Stagg TD and also the
comments on the subject from the Minister for Education and Skills, Mr R?air? Quinn,
in his subsequent reply are available on kfmradio.com and links are attached.

Alvagh Cronin
Secretary
Maynooth Schools Group

http://kildaretoday.podomatic.com/entry/2013-11-27T05_2...08_00

http://kildaretoday.podomatic.com/entry/2013-11-28T06_1...08_00

What is ‘The Maynooth Schools Group’?

‘The Maynooth Schools Group’ is a Public Movement made up of a group of local parents, who came together last February. We are active members of the Parents' Associations of the schools in the Maynooth area. We initially met to discuss the Gerry Jeffers* meetings and the impact that the provision of a second, separate and distinct school was bound to have on the community of Maynooth, into the future.

*Dr Gerry Jeffers PhD, Education Department, NUI Maynooth was engaged by Co. Kildare VEC, as an independent consultant, to meet with various stakeholders and report on the views associated with the proposed developments at Mariaville. He met with parent bodies and produced an independent, detailed report, clearly expressing parental preference for a Junior/Senior model for the new Campus in Maynooth.

'There is a very strong, indeed overwhelming, support for a single school with Junior and Senior wings as the preferred model for the new campus. This desire is much greater than any concerns about, for example, large school size or denominational choice'. (Extract from Gerry Jeffers report)

• The question, 'Why must we have two separate schools and divide the school-going children?' has never been answered.

• The question, 'Why can we not have a Junior/Senior Cycle Campus?' has never been answered.

And yet, they're the only questions our community is asking.

Our Plan of Campaign for Junior/Senior School:

1. We are appealing the decision made by Minister Rúarí Quinn that there would be two separate second-level schools built in our town on the same site.
2. We are calling for a suspension of the enrolment process for 2014, on the following grounds:
a) pending the outcome of the appeal
b) that the new schools will not be ready for use until September 2015
c) because of the confusion and the division being caused by the new enrolment process