And the journey begins…
Tonight was the first meeting of the Community Committee on Consolidation (Triple C). The committee is comprised of parents (District council), residents without children currently in school, administrators, teachers, and staff. Tonight’s task was to develop a list of priorities that will be the basis for determining how we should restructure the school system. The committee broke into smaller groups and reported out. The two major priorities that surfaces were: Equity/equality- this was defined as equity of class size and equal distribution of socio economic status. In addition people listed resources in staffing, equity in physical space and infrastructure (i.e. libraries) and the roll out of programs. The other major priority was transitions. There was not consensus on what that exactly means. Is it the number of years a student spends in a building OR is it the number of times a student moves between buildings? Next week we will begin discussing possible configurations based on these two priorities.
Who received the survey sent to the district’s residents in 2008. I do not recall receiving the survey. How was it distributed and to whom was it distributed? The survey was mailed to every home in the district. You can find the survey results on the website.
• The 2008 parent survey indicates that the majority of respondents strongly agreed that their preference was OPTION #6: Maintain the 7 school buildings as at present; no impact. If the Board’s decision took the results into consideration, why did it vote to close two schools? The survey results indicated that Option 3 and then option 4 where the options that needed further investigation, Option 6 was third on the list.
• What research supports the suggestion that reconfiguring grades in specific schools would significantly and positively affect our students’ achievement? A presentation of the research was done by MS. Goffman and can be found on the website.
• The committee is prioritizing equity of class size and equal distribution of socio-economic status. What studies indicate that if these are accomplished, that student achievement will increase? There have been numerous studies in the last 50 years that indicate the most likely variables to student success in school include SES and class size
• What will the new class sizes be? It depends on the configuration but we will work to stay within the current class size guidelines
• How are they different from current class sizes?
• How are physical space and infrastructure (i.e. libraries) different in the schools? All of the buildings have libraries. Jackson Avenue has a library media center, Meadow has a new bank of computers in the library. Cross and Hampton are awaiting new libraries
• Don’t all schools in the district currently have libraries?
• What is meant by, “the roll out of programs?” The timeline for implementation of a new professional development across the district.
How will increased busing affect our school budget? We are still investigating, but it appears that there will not be a great increase in cost.
How was the budget affected back in the days when Cross Street was closed and those students were bused to Meadow Drive?
Dear Dr. Neglar,
I’m disappointed that you haven’t responded to my questions from my post on March 3, 2010. I don’t have children in the schools and would like this additional information in order to make an informed decision when voting.
I have additional questions:
How will increased busing affect our school budget?
How was the budget affected back in the days when Cross Street was closed and those students were bused to Meadow Drive?
I have been very active in this community attending many, if not most board meetings and as many of you know, I unfortunately was not blessed with children. I am a very active volunteer and granted I have more flexible time on my hands than many; I can assure you that I have enough irons in the fire to exhaust many people. There is one question that bothers me and I have yet to understand it. I understand that many parents work and then there is homework, meetings and car pools with multiple kids, PTA etc. BUT, I don’t understand why the same people come to every meeting and no one else, but now somehow you are able to rearrange your schedule to come because a school might close. I am not trying to be nasty, disrespectful, scolding, or anything other than trying to understand why there isn’t greater community support for the monthly meetings that often present important programs that pertain to the education of your kids. If there were increased attendance at these meetings, perhaps some of the problems we are now facing could have been addressed by the larger community. Sure, I understand that you can’t make them all, but over the many years I have been attending board meetings there have been very few that were even reasonably well attended. I would guess and I know the board can back me in this number, on average there are 15 – 20 people at most of these meetings. Why is that? Is the format not working for you? The day? Time? If so, contact a board member and let them know and maybe an adjustment can be made to accommodate more of you. While I am happy the community seems engaged in this issue, the monthly meetings contain some very important and often enlightening presentations and ideas that you are missing. These are your kids and their educational needs that are discussed, so I am appealing to all of you, to try to make a meeting, it couldn’t hurt.
It is especially important now as Dr. Nagler said, as “the journey begins.”
I would like to correct my last statement. I believe Dr. N said certain areas of the district are more affluent than others. I don’t think he said neighborhoods.
I agree with Mrs. Ecker and voiced many of those concerns at last nights board meeting. The Board has class size guidelines and Mr. Hornberger stated the board is not looking to change them. Unfortunately in the past I have seen that these guildlines are not always followed. I requested that the board have a max class size standard per grade. I believe this is especially important in grades 1-3. For the record my youngest child is currently in grade 3.
I am also very troubled by the term equal distribution of socio-economic status. What excatly does that mean and what criteria will be used to determine it? At the board meeting last night Dr. N stated that some of the neighborhoods in the district are more affluent than others. Does that mean that different zip codes in the school district will be catagorized and treated differently? Is it a fact that everyone in certain areas are more affluent than people in other areas?
My concern is what does this have to do with the reconfiguration of the school district as it relates to education. Shouldn’t every child in the district be treated the same regardless of their socio/economic status?
I also raised the issue of Equity in transpostation. Depending on which schools are closed and how many transitions are performed some children in the district will have to travel longer and spend much more time on buses than others. Dr. N stated that this is being considered.
Are the reconfiguration meetings public meetings that can be observed by members of the community or are they closed sessions?
I am concerned about the recent decision by the Board of Education to close two schools and to reconfigure the remaining elementary schools using a grade reconfiguration model. I have many questions, but let me begin with the ones below.
• W ho received the survey sent to the district’s residents in 2008. I do not recall receiving the survey. How was it distributed and to whom was it distributed?
• The 2008 parent survey indicates that the majority of respondents strongly agreed that their preference was OPTION #6: Maintain the 7 school buildings as at present; no impact. If the Board’s decision took the results into consideration, why did it vote to close two schools?
• What research supports the suggestion that reconfiguring grades in specific schools would significantly and positively affect our students’ achievement?
• The committee is prioritizing equity of class size and equal distribution of socio-economic status. What studies indicate that if these are accomplished, that student achievement will increase?
• What will the new class sizes be?
• How are they different from current class sizes?
• How are physical space and infrastructure (i.e. libraries) different in the schools?
• Don’t all schools in the district currently have libraries?
• What is meant by, “the roll out of programs?”
I would like to suggest that the eight grade be moved to the high school. I base my suggestion on the following reasons:
1- this will cut the capital expenditures needed to expand the number of class rooms at other schools. The high school is underutilized and arrangement can be made to keep the 8th grade as seaparate as possiblle.
2- With the 8h grade in the High School more students that are capable can be accelerated into starting the higher level H.S.courses. This will result in students eventually taking more AP courses and thus earning more college credits. This will reduce the overall college costs for families or allow students to more easily double major in college.
The above items are a win win for both the community and for the students and their families. It is an additional enhancement to the programs already offered by the district.
Dr. Nagler,
Thank you for having this committee and allowing us to be the voices for our community. I believe the meeting last night was productive yet be no means did we solve anything. It is not a quick process and think that over the next four weeks we can come up with a reconfiguration plan that we be best for our children.