By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

As the end of the school year approaches, Washington Elementary Principal and Transition Coordinator Allen Park said his staff are preparing students for change, while planning a celebration to recognize the role the school has played in the lives of thousands of children since opening its doors in 1926.

The Hays USD 489 school board recently voted to close the school as an education center for the 2015-16 school year, with students being transferred to other elementaries.

“We are trying to do several things to help the kids and the staff, because it is going to be a big change,” Park said. “Washington has a long, strong history, and we want to recognize that is some way. We are still working on that process and seeing what we will be doing.”

Park said the school has invited guest speakers to talk to the students about successfully managing change and more presentations related to change and making new friends are planned.

Park said all teachers and 117 students have already been assigned to one of four remaining elementary schools within the district.

“The staff has been doing a great job. … They have been terrific to accept their new placements, and we are working  to make that smooth for them as we move them to their new buildings and their new roles in USD 489,” he said.

Park said working with families and students has also gone well, noting most of the children received their first or second choice school, and those placed in their third or fourth choice have been “understanding,” though he continues to work toward transferring those children to one of their higher ranked schools.

“We are working on trying to figure out how to make that better for them as far as putting them on waiting lists and things like that, to make it work for them ,” he said. “This is new for all of us, so we will figure that as it progresses through the summer months and we get to enrollment.”

Park will continue his role as Transition Coordinator for the 2015-16 school year.

“There are a lot of plans right now to maybe continue some of the same programs we have at Washington and see how they can be moved to other schools,” he said. “(I will) also help make the transition the best possible scenario for the all the children.”

Washington’s “Dads and Donuts” and “Moms and Muffins” programs, sponsored by Messiah Lutheran, are among programs that could transfer to other elementary schools.

As of next school year, Washington will be repurposed to house Early Childhood Connections.