By Margot Holland, BAPA Executive Director
Dear Neighbors,
I hope this issue of The Villager finds you well and able to enjoy this beautiful fall season in our neighborhood. Our paper is jam-packed with fun activities, local business highlights and information to enjoy our thriving neighborhood.
First, all of us at BAPA want to thank the many residents and business owners who have responded to the matching grant awarded to BAPA by the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust. We are so humbled by your support and generosity, and we pledge to keep moving BAPA back to basics to keep our community strong.
Over the last several weeks the alderman’s proposal to reorganize area schools to address enrollment, overcrowding and pressing capital needs has dominated many conversations at the dinner table, at local school council meetings and on social media. At BAPA, we want to focus on what’s best for local students.
The BAPA staff and Board will continue to listen to the discourse and many perspectives regarding the school reorganization proposal and its potential impact on community residents and local school options. BAPA’s role is to consider the broadest impact of big decisions like this and how to best serve the Beverly Hills/Morgan Park community. We also understand that passions run high when changes are proposed and recognize difficult decisions can sometimes lead to the best results.
BAPA supports that Alderman Matt O’Shea and Sen. Bill Cunningham are willing to address the issues that face our schools.
For 70 years BAPA has advocated for strong school options on behalf of our students and families – that will never change.
More information is needed before decisions are made that affect local schools.
We look forward to working closely with Ald. O’Shea, Sen. Cunningham, parents and school officials to keep our schools and community strong.
BAPA’s staff and leadership are committed to listening and advocating for our community as this conversation continues.
As a result of this proposal, BAPA has revived our education committee, and we are actively recruiting members.
We continue to define our role today and look back on success. In years past BAPA provided a residency resource for local schools. We feel that this should be a part of our education committee discussions and that, potentially, BAPA could resume this resource to ensure residency requirements at our neighborhood schools.
BAPA will administer the Parent Mentor Program at both Barnard and Esmond Schools, fostering parent involvement in the classrooms and providing teachers with extra resources to run their classrooms.
Please contact me at mholland@bapa.org if you are interested in joining the BAPA education committee.
All the Best, Margot
