The joint chair of Coláiste Pobail Acla have called for the immediate reinstatment of DEIS status to the school.
In a press release explaining the loss of status for the school, Greg Hannigan and Seamus Butler outline the events that led up to the eventual loss of status and call for the immediate reversal of the decision by the Department of Education.
Read the full press release here.
DEIS status:
Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, was launched in May 2005 and remains the Department of Education and Skills policy instrument to address educational disadvantage. The action plan focuses on addressing and prioritising the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities, from pre-school through second-level education (3 to 18 years).
DEIS provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and an integrated School Support Programme (SSP).
836 schools are included in the programme in the 2015/16 school year. These comprise 646 primary schools (330 urban/town schools and 316 rural primary schools) and 190 second level schools.
**Update Dec 30**
Since this issue has gone public, the Mayo News have followed the story with news that the parents plan to picket the Dail in 2016 to highlight the problem.