Center Point Urbana Parents Want Principal Reinstated

Parents and members of the Center Point Urbana community attended a special school board meeting on Tuesday to show their support for a principal who recently resigned her position, according to KWWL.

Principal Ann Woolridge submitted her letter of resignation to the school district back in April. She had served as principal of CPU Primary School for 11 years. KWWL reports that Woolridge disagreed with the school district's decision to shrink the number of classes for incoming second graders. She also noted a "mismatch of student learning needs and necessary teaching resources". The district is planning on going from five second-grade classes down to four this fall. The superintendent for CPU notes that enrollment has declined and that the four classes will still satisfy district policy that calls for 20 students per class in grades K-2nd.

In a letter to the district, Woolridge disagreed. KWWL reports that she says that next year's second graders have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that staying with 16 students per class is the right thing to do to maintain student engagement.

A group of parents presented the school board with a petition with over 550 signatures on it, asking the school board to deny Woolridge's resignation, according to KWWL. Woolridge declined an official interview but did tell KWWL that she did want to come back if her conditions were met. At the end of last night's meeting, a school board member told those attending that they had received the petition and that they would follow up in the near future.
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