Family fights to prevent elementary school from closing as part of Pathway to Greatness plan - OKC, OK - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Edwards Elementary School is one of many schools that will be closed down by the OKC Public Schools District in a controversial restructuring project. The grandson of the couple that the school is named after is fighting to keep it open.

Article text:

Edwards Elementary School is one of 15 Oklahoma City Public Schools slated to close and be repurposed, but the grandson of the people the school is named after is fighting to keep it open.

"MJ and Francis Edwards were my grandparents," James Johnson said.

People might not know their names, but Johnson said they were real estate developers who had a big effect on the Oklahoma City community for decades.

"Serial entrepreneurs. They built 750 homes in OKC over a period of years," Johnson said.

The Edwardses were so influential, the elementary school near Northeast 10th Street and Bryant Avenue was named after them.

"It went on to serve people for a great number of years," Johnson said.

The school, which opened in the 1930s and has served children in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, is scheduled to close as part of Oklahoma City Public Schools' Pathway to Greatness plan, a program to help save the district money and, as officials have said, better serve students.

"It seems that you're closing down the idea of Edwards Elementary remaining a community school, which it has been for a number of years," Johnson said.

While Johnson believes in the Pathway to Greatness restructuring plan, he said Edwards Elementary School should become a transformation school. He has started a petition, which has more than 500 signatures, to keep the school open.

Johnson said the family has contacted Superintendent Sean McDaniel. District officials said they are committed to honoring the Edwards family, but the school will close.

Type of publication: Television When was the article reported?: 02/23/2019 Publication: KOCO News 5 Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Kids/Youth

Visit Instructions:
Give the date of your visit at the news location along with a description of what you learned or experienced.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   08/05/2019 Max and 99 visited it