PARENTS CAMPING OUT AT SCHOOL

Sheffield Township – If you happened to drive by Clearview High School Sunday you were sure to notice people sitting on lawn chairs at the main entrance. They are parents who are camping out overnight at the school, not for the newest Atari game or tickets to see Hanna Montana – rather they are there trying to get their children enrolled into the Clearview School District.

Clearview School District Board President Melissa Newsome said the parents started their camp out early Sunday morning and will be there until the doors open at 8 A.M. Monday morning. “The parents are trying to get their kids into our open enrollment program, that is why they are camping outside of the building tonight.”

Newsome said that although they will not know how many openings will be available until after graduation later this year, the number of openings will certainly be limited. “There is a formula that we have to work through to determine how many openings there will be for the different buildings in our district. It is heartbreaking to know that we will not be able to accommodate everyone who will show up and spend the night trying to get their child into our school.”

Dena Arend is a Lorain resident who is camping out to secure a spot for her daughter as a freshman in Clearview High School. Arend said that she has been studying up on Clearview, doing her homework if you will, and has been impressed by their academic programs and athletic programs as well. “My daughter absolutely wants to go to school here, that is why I am here tonight.” Arend said that the person who has secured the number one spot in line this year was third in line last year and was unable to get her child enrolled. Even with that she said she still has hope. “This is for my daughter so this is worth it, getting her into this school district is worth what I am doing here tonight.”

Newsome said that seeing parents camping out overnight to get their kids into her school district provides her with a sense of pride. “This certainly means a lot to myself and everyone with the Clearview School District that people would make such a sacrifice to try and get their children into our schools.” Newsome said that if I wanted to return at 3 in the morning I would find many more cars parked in the lot – I’ll take her word for it.

Newsome said that credit needs to go to the hard working, dedicated teachers of the Clearview School District. “I just don’t think the teachers get enough credit. We have some of the best teachers around and they should be very proud of themselves. The parents camping out are there in part because they know how great our teachers are and they want their children in those classrooms with these teachers.”

You will notice in the photo that only Arend was in her seat at the time of the photo, the other parents were taking refuge in their vans where they were taking naps and watching their DVD players.