Is This The Last Honor for Holbrook Elementary School?

Holbrook Elementary School in North Concord has received a nice honor from a governor’s council, but it may be the school’s last honor ever.

The Mount Diablo school district, in its budget belt-tightening this year, closed Holbrook. Its students will be dispersed to other schools in September.

Holbrook on Tuesday was named one of nine Bay Area finalists for the Governor’s Challenge Competition for schools that promote physical activity and better nutrition.

It’s the fourth year Holbrook, at 3333 Ronald Way, has been named a finalist in the Governor’s Challenge, according to a news release from Jake Steinfeld, chairman of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. In 2007 Holbrook was crowned the Bay Area regional champion with a $5,000 award. In 2009, the school received a $1,000 Front Runner Award for recording the most days of physical activity of any elementary school in the Bay Area at the halfway point of the competition.

Through the winter and spring, there was great anguish as the Mount Diablo school board wrestled with economics and decisions, and finally decided to close Holbrook Elementary and Glenbrook Middle School. Students in the Holbrook zone are on their way to Sun Terrace and Wren Avenue schools.

Other Bay Area schools on the list of finalists for the Governor’s Challenge Competition are:

• FAME Public Charter in Fremont;
• Junction K-8 and Rancho Las Positas Elementary in Livermore;
• Los Altos High in Los Altos;
• Sunset Ridge Elementary in Pacifica;
• Brooktree Elementary and Ruskin Elementary in San Jose; and
• Jefferson Elementary in San Leandro.

 The Save Holbrook Elementary School campaign has its own Facebook site.

One Holbrook teacher, Carol Wallis, wrote, “we stopped crying, stopped fighting and march on to our professional fate” about the emotion surrounding the fate of Holbook, as excerpted in a Contra Costa Times blog.