A lone child ran across the Village Green last Friday, Feb. 17, the first day a new rule kept local elementary school students from gathering there. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net
Concerns about unsupervised children roaming downtown streets and shops have brought an end to the longtime Davidson tradition of Fridays on the Green. Davidson Elementary School officials told parents last week they no longer may give their fifth-grade-aged children permission to walk downtown on Friday afternoons. But some local business owners see no major problems and are lamenting the change, saying it will hurt their businesses.
The school’s interim principal said the ban was prompted by complaints from parents and businesses and concerns about safety and unruly behavior. She also told DavidsonNews.net the students are too young to be out without an adult.
Davidson Elementary School letter announced the new policy. Click for a PDF.
For many years, fifth-grade students who had written permission from their parents have been released from the South Street school on Friday afternoons to walk to Main Street. There, dozens of students have socialized, played touch football on the Green and visited local shops, from the CVS pharmacy to The Soda Shop to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.
But in a note to parents last week, Davidson Elementary interim principal Ann Nivens announced the policy change. Now, students will no longer be allowed to walk to the Green, even if their parents are willing. Instead, they must be picked up by a parent or ride home on the bus, as any other day. [Ms. Nivens will be interim principal until next week, when Dana Jarrett takes over.]
The letter cited “communication from parents, students, town citizens and businesses expressing concerns regarding the supervision of students on the Green on Friday afternoons.”
QUIET FRIDAYS
Last Friday, the Green and Main Street were eerily quiet, with only a handful of students visible. One group of four fifth-grade girls said their parents had picked them up at school and dropped them off downtown. But playmates were few.
They said they saw about seven or eight people total, compared to “a hundred” on previous weeks. Asked why downtown was so empty, one of the girls said, “Because they banned it, because people were being bad” – wrestling, using foul language, and not paying at local shops.
The new policy comes less than a year after Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools closed Davidson IB Middle School on South Street, which used to release dozens of middle-schoolers to the Village Green every Friday afternoon. Although Lake Norman Christian School began leasing the building Jan. 1, it has fewer students – only 110 divided between grades K through 9.
Some merchants say they’re concerned that the elementary school policy change will permanently end a tradition has made for lively Friday afternoons and evenings along Main Street and brought business downtown. Some parents have even followed their children downtown on Fridays, meeting to shop and dine at local eateries.
Deborah Caudle, owner of The Soda Shop, estimated that the loss of Friday afternoon business from students would cost her about $50,000 a year. She’s already struggling, she said, and that money could mean the difference between having an assistant manager or not.
“It’s sad. It’s really sad,” Ms. Caudle said. “It’s gonna be about 50,000 a year for me. You can take five-oh-oh-oh-oh and just cross it off.”
COMPLAINTS
But the Fridays on the Green tradition has not come without problems. Ms. Nivens said the school has received complaints from the CVS pharmacy and other businesses about shoplifting and misbehavior. [A CVS assistant manager told DavidsonNews.net this week the store was not among those who complained.] She said one parent adviser on her Senior Leadership Team expressed concern, saying her car had once nearly struck a child crossing the street on a Friday afternoon. She also said the school’s fifth grade teachers supported the change.
“I think the main concern is that people perceive this as a school event, because the children do gather at the school and leave from the school,” Ms. Nivens said.
She said the move was not prompted by Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools’ lawyers. “Even though we haven’t had lawyers involved, I do feel if I child was to get hurt, the school would have a certain amount of responsibility,” Ms. Nivens said.
CHILDREN IN DANGER?
The school does not provide any supervision once the children leave school, though some parents have made a practice of hanging out on the Green or the coffee shop to keep an eye on things.
Ms. Nivens said she thinks fifth graders are too young to be allowed outside home or school without an adult. “Even though it is not a school-sponsored activity, the school still is perceived as encouraging children to be unaccompanied … and to be unsupervised,” she said.
She also worries – though she admits it is “far out there” – that unsupervised children could get into other trouble when they’re alone, such as arranging meetings with strangers they may have met on the Internet. “The world is just a different place nowadays. I just imagine that a child could be on the Internet or Facebook with someone and arrange to meet them there. That would just be a concern that I would have as a parent.”
She said no parent has mentioned that to her. But she said she is simply concerned with children who are not under the supervision of a parent or adult. [Fifth graders - 10 and 11 years old - are too young to sign up for Facebook accounts, which require youth to be at least 13.]
Mayor John Woods said he has heard complaints about Fridays on the Green in recent years. Asked to comment about the new school policy, he offered a middle of the road answer: “We’d like to see parents play a role in what has been a great community tradition.”
LOST BUSINESS, LOST TRADITION
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream on South Main Street has long been a major part of the Friday fun for kids, and has even staged events and offered free video games. Karen Toney, the shop’s manager, was among those saddened by the change last week – and not just because of the loss of business.
“I have always loved what ‘Fifth-Grade Friday’ looks like,” she said. She said she has seen both students and their parents on Main Street. “It just makes the town feel alive.”
Ms. Toney said she understands there have been problems at other Main Street businesses – shoplifting at CVS and a crush of students filling other businesses, such as The Soda Shop. She said most business owners have developed a rapport with the kids that allows them to keep the problem in check. “I know the kids will listen to me.”
Megan Blackwell, owner of the Village Store on South Main Street, agreed. She said she was not among those who complained. “I have not heard any merchants on Main Street complain about it,” she said.
Ms. Blackwell said the local shopkeepers have been able to handle the situation by talking to students. “Are we willing to take the ‘It takes a village’ approach? Yes. We are willing to say, ‘Look, you all are out of control. Take the Pepsi and go outside.”
Ms. Toney said the loss of Friday afternoon business would hurt and probably means no longer hiring an extra part-time employee those days. “This will absolutely affect my bottom line. These kids and their parents have supported the business.”
The CVS pharmacy at South Main and Chairman Blake Drive has been a popular destination, but also has seen rowdy kids and occasional shoplifting. A couple of years ago, the store began limiting students to 10 at a time in the store.
A CVS assistant manager, who asked that his name not be used, told DavidsonNews.net the store had never complained to the school. To accommodate the extra traffic and sales on Fridays, CVS has added an extra person on Friday afternoons, he said.
One pair of Davidson Elementary School students did a Math Fair project about Fridays on the Green last month. They found that the CVS was the most popular place for fifth graders to spend money on Friday afternoons.
“We do get a little bit more business because of this,” the assistant store manager said. But, he added, “It does create a headache.”
Two years ago, when middle-school students still were coming to the Green on Fridays, some kids started a fire in the bathroom, he said. “We’ve also had kids climbing on the roof,” he said.
Still, the end of Fridays on the Green will hit CVS in the cash registers. “We’ll see a drop in sales,” he said.
RELATED LINKS
Feb. 16, 2012, Davidson Elementary School letter to parents about the new policy. (PDF)
Another victory for Trip and Fall, Ambulance Chasing Lawyers. Nice to see they have scared CMS to eliminate this tradition.
(via Facebook) It sounds like a nice tradition. Everyone laments kids being too plugged-in, too much “screen time,” but then they take away opportunities like this where the young people interact in real time and probably learn some self-reliance and self-governance.
The article clearly states that no one at the school consulted any lawyers so you can’t blame the lawyer-bogeyman for the policy change. Seems to me it is an example of the “Daddy State” mentality — kids are having fun, therefore there must be a problem. What concerns me most about this story is the facts that Dr. Nivens’ letter states that businesses on Main Street complained about the students yet all of the business owners interviewed deny lodging any complaints. Something doesn’t add up.
This is a sad development. As a South Street resident, and elementary school parents we enjoyed the atmosphere the Friday afternoons brought to the town. I hope this is not an indication of the new principals eliminating the unique traditions that make DES great.
(via Facebook) – As a parent of a 2nd grader, I understand the concerns from all sides–about behavior, safety, and security. And about damage (accidental or otherwise) to the library and surroundings. But I also believe that this sort of tradition speaks to us as small town residents, and–in many ways–teaches (most) of the kids strong lessons in positive interaction with others–their peers, the world of shopping and commerce, and in acting responsible for themselves. I’d suggest that the tradition could be continued with some combination of volunteer parent involvement as monitors, along with something akin to the crossing guards (which may involve some pay for performance–I’d bet a program with the Pines could be arranged.) As for the shoplifting issue, that’s a lesson being taught as well…
(via Facebook) – I think what bothers me the most about this is that there was zero communication from the school whatsoever regarding any problems. One day the kids were allowed to walk to the green and then the next day … bam! No more! Why didn’t the school reach out to us? Why didn’t they ask for parents to help walk the kids to the green and supervise? Davidson is a pedestrian and bicycle friendly community …and now we are being asked to DRIVE our kids to the green? This seems so backwards. It was quite a depressing scene last week to see the green so empty. I guess my point is that I just wish the school would have reached out to us before making this decision. So many parents are involved with the well-being of their children in this community. Myself (and I’m sure other parents) would have been more than happy to help make this work out.
(via Facebook) – I’m a bit confused…. when did CMS start controlling what anyone’s child does once the dismissal “bell” rings and said child steps off school property, unless of course the child is on a CMS bus?
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Surely my own four children were not so much more capable of caring for themselves in a responsible manner than are today’s children. From FIRST GRADE on they walked or rode their bikes in informal groups to school. Are there no children today who walk to school? Does a principal have the authority to tell parents that they cannot allow their children to walk downtown if the parents want them to? We are making sissies out of today’s children and are teaching them that the world is a dangerous place. Davidson is a safe place. Children, especially fifth graders, are capable of making good decisions. If a principal is going to make an edict as she has, surely she is willing to back it up with specific complaints from downtown merchants. And to do so without consulting with the parents involved??? She is not the kind of principal I would want running my children’s school!
Cary Johnston
After reading the story and the other comments, I wonder why this change was made in the first place. Despite the principal’s understanding, it sounds as if downtown merchants are against the end of Friday afternoons on the Green. They seem to want the children back and feel that they can deal with any problems. As the principal stated, the change did not come as a result of official policies or the school system’s lawyers.
If the concern is that parents somehow think this is a school sponsored event, can’t that be taken care of by the principal just sending a letter to fifth grade parents explaining this? Any parents of fifth graders can decide on their own whether they think their children can have this little taste of freedom. I wonder how many parents of fifth graders who go to the Green were even consulted.
Wouldn’t this be a good opportunity to let fifth graders go back to the routine and warn them that if there are significant problems, it will be stopped again for good? This might be a good way to let them learn that with freedom comes some responsibilities.
If any readers have fifth grade students and have feelings about this one way or the other, you might want to contact the new principal who starts on March 1 (main email address davidsonelem@cms.k12.nc.us) so that the leadership can get a more complete view of feelings and perhaps reassess.
John Cunningham
Why would an interim principal leaving in 14 days make such a controversial call? Somebody’s worried about liability: helicopter parents? CMS– but not admitting to it? Mrs. Nevins taking a fall for the new principal? It is pathetic that 5th graders playing on their own on the town green after school would be perceived as a risk, and that unsupervised play is dangerous to the social fabric. Will these children be able to function at all on their own as they grow older? Will they have to be chauffeured every place they go? Will the sun melt them? Are they hot house tomatoes that if disconnected from mommy and school will whither?
As a college instructor, when I’d see them running “wild” on the green, I thought, thank God they have this chance to think and act on their own. In the rigid world set by day care, schools, and parents, they have precious little chance to build creativity and confidence. Shame on Mrs. Nevins and all the others who contributed to this decision.
As I remember the tradition started with middle school kids at Davidson IB Middle. When the CMS system got worried (after years of no problems) that there MAY be liability issues, the permission form was started. This form had parents sign that they were aware the school was not responsible for their children once the bell rang and the child left school grounds.
There were always a few younger siblings of older kids, or a few families with younger kids in town. About 3 years ago it became a “thing” for the DES kids as well as middle school kids to head to town. DES apparently used the same permission system (my kids are gone so I can only go on what others have said).
As far as I know there is no town ordinance or curfew that would prevent kids from being in town. I agree with others that the school has not right to say where one’s children go after dismissal. If necessary, walk and meet your kids and walk them to town. If parents were staying with kids anyway, it should be no problem. If you work, ask a friend to keep an eye out for your child. That is what we do in Davidson.
There will always be a few “bad eggs”. We should keep punishment to those who deserve it and let the rest be. This will be a sad state for the town in terms of energy and finance.
Ms Nivens it is not too late to correct the error. Your heart may have been in the right place, but the action was too dramatic.
So many things are wrong here. The interim principal seems paranoid, unfamiliar with Davidson’s small town life. She has unilaterally decided her judgment about safety and responsibility trumps the parents’. She is clearly over-reaching her authority. If parents give written permission for their children to walk home (or to the Green) after school, it is no longer within the school’s power to stop where they walk. Parents simply should not allow the school to force them to drive kids the few blocks from DES to downtown. (And what about the kids whose parents are not available to drive them in the middle of the afternoon?)
Second, this is a wonderful Davidson tradition. I remember seeing all the kids on the Green, their backpacks lining the brick wall, when we were deciding whether to move to Davidson. It was wonderful to know there still exists a place in America where kids are safe to roam. We wanted to live here all the more after seeing that. Let’s not let an interim principal take that away from our kids, our merchants and our town.
Third, it’s frustrating to see a school principal resort to the terrible, over-used method of punishing ALL the kids when a small minority of them do something wrong. Besides, it sounds like some of the bad behavior happened last year, which would have been last-year’s fifth graders and IB middle school kids. It is completely unfair to deny the vast majority of this year’s well-behaved fifth graders this great opportunity.
Finally, even if some (anonymous) merchants complained about a few unruly kids, this still should not result in a total ban. Stores are open to all citizens and, as long as they are not breaking the law, kids deserve the freedom to shop and be in the stores and restaurants as much as anyone else. If they are breaking laws (shoplifting, littering, disturbing the peace, etc.) I suggest a gentle or not-so-gentle correction by shop-owners, parents or the police (depending on the offense). Leave the kids who are just enjoying some freedom and boosting our local economy alone.
This seems about par for the course.
CMS closed DIB because it was special. Sure, they said it was because of cost and upkeep and the age of the building, but there’s a school there now is there? It’s even likely to get historical designation.
Now, CMS is taking this away because it’s special. My guess is no other CMS elementary school had the kind of policy that Davidson Elementary did. Uniformity will always trump everything else in a system the size of CMS.
However, these type of choices are only taken away if people let them. I do hope some of the parents step up and don’t let that happen.