The Willow Glen Resident Letters Closing access road adds to traffic woes At the recommendation of the city's Planning Department, the San Jose Planning Commission voted to close the connector driveway between the Dry Creek Shopping Center parking lot and the Safeway-Rite Aid parking lot at the corner of Meridian and Hamilton avenues. I am concerned because as a nearby resident, I was not notified of any of the meetings between Safeway, the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association and the city's Planning Department regarding this decision. I believe this was within my rights; the Planning Department says it isn't. As a result of the closure of this driveway, a lot of additional traffic is created at the intersection of Hamilton and Meridian avenues. This is because all cars must exit one shopping center to enter the other. At rush hour, the intersection is horrendous. I have called the Safeway Corporate Headquarters in Pleasanton but have been told each time that the decision was the city's. The Planning Department says that it was Safeway's, because Safeway owns the land. Can some light be shed on this? It has created a real headache at this intersection. Jerome Alvin jalvin17@hotmail.com Broadway High is a model for the district Aside from the rambling assault on the San Jose Unified School District by Sadie Z. Mouber (Letters, Oct. 14), one attack must be refuted. Broadway High School is not a school for juvenile delinquents. Broadway is a model for how all high schools should be operated, with small class sizes, excellent discipline and accountability requirements for the students. The dedication of the staff and professionals to their mission of education is a leading example for all of the district. Also, Sadie, what's wrong with educating unwed mothers [in a facility] complete with a nursery? Wake up, Sadie, and get the facts of life before you attack without provocation. Leiland S. Hurd Faircliff Court Glen schools grow to meet changing needs The Oct. 14 letter from Sadie Mouber is comprised solely of lies and teeming with venom. We doubt the writer is interested in the truth; we hope the rest of your readers will be. The students at Broadway High School are not juvenile delinquents. They are high school students working to acquire their diplomas and develop career skills so they can support themselves. They may have struggled in the traditional school system, but the very fact that they attend Broadway is indicative of their desire to better themselves. Yes, some of them are young parents. They study hard and attend child-development classes so they can take better care of their children. River Glen Elementary School has received more awards and accolades than any school in the San Jose Unified School District. Yes, it is a school for bilingual children. Yes, it is a school for Spanish-speaking children. It is also a school for English-speaking children. River Glen gives all children an opportunity to learn to read and write in two languages, and to learn to do math computations and social studies research and science reports in two languages. The majority of River Glen's students live in the 95125 ZIP code. Willow Glen Elementary School is an exceptional school with a caring faculty and tremendous parent support. It does have portables on its campus. The new portables are needed either to make sure we have enough room for the children or because San Jose Unified was aggressive in implementing the 20-to-1 class-size ratio. Because of the district's commitment to children, Willow Glen has 20 or fewer students in all classes from kindergarten to the third grade. Portable classrooms have been moved off of and onto virtually every school site during the past 25-plus years. This is because of changes in the neighborhood's population of children. Whole schools have been closed and then re-opened as neighborhood populations have grown, declined and grown again. This is typical of all school districts. In response to the desires of parents all over the school district, SJUSD recently returned to "neighborhood schools." Far fewer elementary-age children are being bused to school than ever before. Academics are very good and getting better at all the schools of Willow Glen, not because "all the schools were stolen from the neighborhoods and turned over to the federal government," as Mouber's letter stated, but rather because the SJUSD is setting high standards and more parents are getting involved in our neighborhood schools. Marilyn Dion President, HABLA (parent-teacher organization), River Glen Elementary Joe Guerra PTA President,, Willow Glen Elementary [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.