The Barack H. Obama Elementary School in Asbury Park, New Jersey will close its doors July 1st because of low academic achievement and declining enrollment in the district's schools, according to a release from the Asbury Park State Fiscal Monitor's office.

Students at the elementary school, named last year for the president, will attend two other local schools beginning next fall, and School Superintendent Dr. Denise Lowe said the configuration will help improve academic achievement.


"Change is never easy but the district is at a pivotal point where difficult decisions must be made. The consequences of idleness are far greater than the improvisation that is now necessary," Lowe said in a statement Thursday. "While my preference was to restructure the district's schools based on the Pre-K – 3rd grade reform model, I am committed to leading our schools to greater academic achievement no matter the course."

The decision, first reported by the Asbury Park Press, comes after the Asbury Park Board of Education failed to support a plan Lowe proposed to reconfigure elementary grades and keep the Obama school open.

The site will eventually house administrative offices and another school that will relocate at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

Source:cc.bingj