Fair Oaks Community School is set to close after this school year due to decreasing enrollment “as Bay Area families continue to move out of the region,” the Redwood City School District announced Friday.
About 180 students and their teachers and staff at the school at 2950 Fair Oaks Ave. will transfer to one of three larger neighboring schools: Garfield Community School (3600 Middlefield Rd. in Menlo Park), Hoover Community School (701 Charter St. in Redwood City) or Taft Community School (903 10th Ave. in Redwood City).
As part of the plan, an independent charter organization that currently operates on portions of both the Hoover and Taft campuses will consolidate its operations at the Fair Oaks site, where RCSD will no longer provide services, the district said in a statement.
That transfer will allow Hoover and Taft to occupy their whole campus, the district said.
The school’s enrollment has dipped from just under 500 in the 2008-9 school year, it added.
“Families are moving out, school districts are restructuring schools on the Peninsula and throughout the Bay Area, and we are not immune to this change,” RCSD Superintendent Dr. John Baker said in a statement. “Allowing for any school with low enrollment to continue to operate means less resources and this is not something we will allow in RCSD.”
Fair Oaks families making the transition will continue to have the same services provided at the family center, along with access to after school programs at the three neighboring schools, transportation for their children for the first two years and summer school options. Incoming kindergarten families will still have the option of enrolling in the Bilingual Education program, the district said. Families who want to attend any other RCSD program or school can follow the Schools of Choice application process, the district added.
RCSD said its staff will meet with all Fair Oaks families individually to guide them in the transfer.
Fair Oaks Community School is located at 2950 Fair Oaks Ave. in Redwood City, Garfield Community School operates at 3600 Middlefield Rd. in Menlo Park, Hoover Community School’s address is 701 Charter St. in Redwood City while Taft Community School is located at 903 10th Ave. in Redwood City.
