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It feels like a tragedy wrapped in triumph, parents say. Or maybe the other way around.

Parker Elementary in New Bedford became the first “chronically underperforming school” to ever be released from state takeover. But in a twist, that now means the local school board could shutter the small neighborhood school next year. 

On Tuesday, acting Education Commissioner Russell Johnson announced that Parker would become the first school released from the most stringent level of state control — often called receivership — which it had entered in 2013. To date, no other school has successfully emerged from this category. But New Bedford’s resumption of control over the building means it may now go forward with its plan to close Parker as an elementary school.

“This should have been a time for all Parker families to be celebrating,” said Susanna Araujo, who serves as both the school’s crossing guard and its parent-teacher organization president. “Instead, we feel like we are in mourning.”

“This [decision] is about the students,” said Commissioner Johnson, who also added that, “We have great confidence in the district to bring this school back into the fold of all elementary schools in the district.” The board of education would typically continue to monitor the school to ensure it continues making progress on accountability measures, including student achievement.

But Johnson also acknowledged that when the district regains control of the school for the first time in over a decade, it may close the building as an elementary school. “This will go to the local School Committee for a decision,” he said. 

As soon as next year, the elementary students at Parker could disperse into four other elementaries — Rodman, Hathaway, Carney, and Hayden-McFadden. The Parker building, a small neighborhood school that first opened in 1966, could transition to exclusively serve the growing number of preschool students in New Bedford, if the School Committee votes to approve the district’s plan. 

None of New Bedford’s six elected School Committee members responded to a request for comment.

Superintendent Andrew O’Leary has described the district’s proposal as a better allocation of resources. “An early childhood center with at least 14 [special needs] classrooms located at Parker is in the best interest of district families over the medium and long term,” he said at the August School Committee meeting.

But Tuesday’s news felt like another nail in the coffin for the school that the Parker community loves. 

“Right now our morale is so low at the school,” said Araujo. “Parents have such a broken heart, and they don’t know where their kids are going to go, how they’ll get there, or if they’ll get the same support.”

Another active parent, Dan Washburn, said that he’s tried to ask questions of O’Leary and of all School Committee members, but he said that he’s unsatisfied with their lack of communication.

“I told [O’Leary] ‘I would go to bat for you if you came along with a serious and solid plan,’” Washburn said, adding that he feels many questions remain unanswered. For example, Washburn, who owns his own construction company, asked if the district has procured architectural drawings or started searching for a contractor to make renovations to the building — such as making stairways and restrooms more accessible for 3- and 4-year-olds. 

“If you don’t have a contractor already, you won’t get anyone to fix all this by next summer,” Washburn said. 

Parents say they’ve also heard worries directly from the teachers. But the local union, the New Bedford Educators Association, did not respond to a request for comment. At the August School Committee meeting, local union president Thomas Nickerson said teachers were fearful that breaking up the school would undo the significant progress they’ve made in recent years. 

A statement from Superintendent O’Leary said that the School Committee will “take up” the issue in December, likely with a formal vote on whether to adopt the plan. 

Until then, parents say they’ll keep working to save the school that, in any other circumstance, would have just received the best news possible. “I just hope parents and the community keep going forward and sharing their voice,” said Araujo, the crossing guard and parent-teacher president. 

She said that the whole community can help by reaching out to local elected officials and School Committee members. “I’m only one person,” she said.

Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org