KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the better part of the school year, KSHB 41 has followed the impact of the Kansas City Public Schools district's Blueprint 2030 plan.
Blueprint 2030 included plans to expand field trips and learning opportunities, but also to shut down some neighborhood schools because of costly maintenance.
Before KCPS approved the plan, many Longfellow Elementary parents were worried about what was in store for their kids and what would happen to the staff and the building.
But today, those plans are solidified and even with the school shut down, a celebration of all the good times was in order on Thursday.
Longfellow Elementary students will soon ride off to summer, and then start at other schools in Kansas City.
“It’s really bittersweet, there have been tears,” said Dr. Jimmie Bullard, principal at Longfellow Elementary School. "I walk into my office and cry a little bit and go back out because I can’t do that to those kids, but they know I love them. This is my sixth year at Longfellow. It’s a family, a culture, the parents and the students.”
From the hallways, to the classrooms, it’s the final chapter of a neighborhood school that Bullard says is worth the farewell.
“I’m walking the hallways with a heavy heart, but on light feet,” Bullard said. “We’re walking through giving extra hugs, looking at the teachers. It’s breaking up our family, the teachers are going to different places. Everybody is going to different places, so we are trying to make the best of what I have now. Every single day will be great.”
Thursday was especially sweet, as staff, parents and students soaked in a field day.
Tia Ferguson and her second grader know it’s a special place.
“When we first got here, it just felt like it was something that fit for him,” Ferguson said. “All the teachers have been so welcoming.”
As changes come, Bullard is confident the students will be prepared.
“It’s really kind of sad, but you know they are going to be okay, because we really worked hard to make sure they would be okay,” Bullard said. “It’s one of those things where I know they will be okay, because they will be at another school but still, these are my babies.”
KCPS transition teams ensured students’ next school would be the right fit.
Even so, some questions still remain.
“In the beginning, he was like, ‘Mom, where is everyone going to go? What is the school going to do,'" Ferguson said. "I’m like, ‘Kingston, we have to find different schools for you,' but he just didn’t want to leave his friends."
Even the Longfellow counselor has heard some of the students’ questions.
“Who’s my teacher going to be? Am I going to know anybody? All those friendship worries,” said Andrea McCoy, a counselor at Longfellow Elementary.
They want Longfellow remembered as the neighborhood school where families and staff built a culture for everyone.
“I want them to know, I love you, I got you, you’re going to be okay — I’m just an email phone call text away,” Bullard said.
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