Burrell elementary school plan on track
The Burrell School Board is on track to approve an elementary reconfiguration plan at its Nov. 16 meeting.
Superintendent Shannon Wagner on Tuesday presented the timeline for the restructuring, which would turn Bon Air into a primary school for kindergarten through third grade, and Stewart into an upper elementary for grades four and five.
Wagner said most of the physical changes — new playgrounds, new science and computer labs, adjusting the traffic patterns at Stewart and moving supplies to the proper buildings — would be organized by the end of this school year and carried out over the summer.
She also provided some rough estimates for the costs associated with the proposal, which could top $760,000.
Wagner and Business Manager Jennifer Callahan said the capital projects fund would cover the bulk of the cost. Callahan said the fund now contains just over $2 million, money left over from the bond issue used to pay for the middle school renovation project.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Loughead said some of the academic changes would be ready for the start of the 2011-12 school year. Others wouldn't be fully rolled out until fall 2012.
Loughead listed four major academic areas that will require staff planning and training:
• Best use of the additional reading instruction time that will be available, particularly in the primary grades.
Since this will not involve new curriculum, Loughead said teachers will begin crafting lessons and trying them out this spring and be ready to utilize the additional time in the fall.
• The Response to Intervention and Instruction initiative, which requires teachers to react to data on student performance and create lessons and methods to address individualized student needs.
Loughead said the intervention specialist hired this year already is monitoring the data and working with teachers to adapt to student needs. This initiative will be expanded when all students of a particular grade level are in one building and will be used next fall.
• How to best use a daily block of "explore time" in the upper elementary grades.
Loughead said it will take time to develop the best use of the blocks for more in-depth instruction in math, science and even reading, again depending on student needs. He said the explore time will be piloted next school year with full implementation planned for fall 2012.
• Designing a new elementary science program involving more hands-on activities and less book-based learning.
Since this is the only area involving a new curriculum, as well as training classroom teachers in the primary grades to begin teaching science, Loughead said it won't be fully implemented until fall 2012.
The current science curriculum will be taught next fall, with the new lessons slowly integrated.
"We do not want to overwhelm our staff," said Loughead.
That was one of the main concerns brought up by parents who were worried the teachers and students would be hit with too much change too fast.
Lower Burrell resident Richard Lippert questioned whether the academic improvements could be made without changing the structure of the buildings. Sherri Bitar, also of Lower Burrell, asked whether the academic changes could be fully enacted and the kinks ironed out before any physical changes are made.
Wagner said many of the changes require all students in a grade level to be in the same building That's so there is enough staff to accomplish the goals and enough leeway in the schedule to provide large, uninterrupted blocks of time to core subjects.
Cost breakdown
The most costly aspects would be redesigning the traffic pattern at Stewart and upgrading the playgrounds at both schools. Wagner said Stewart's bus route, parking and student drop-off area — estimated on the high side at $400,000 — likely need redesigned regardless of the restructuring for safety and space reasons.
Upgrading the playgrounds, which could cost about $200,000 total, also has been discussed for several years, Wagner said.
Other costs include about $50,000 for the new science lab and technology improvements at Stewart; $100,000 over three years for a new science curriculum; and about $10,000 in labor costs for several physical changes.
Although the school board on Tuesday could approve the plan for restructuring, they will be called to approve several associated items before next school year. Bids for the work will need approval, as will the new science curriculum.
Board member Ron Slater said the project will be closely monitored and parent input will continue to be sought.
Several board members on Tuesday indicated support for the plan.
Tami Kelly noted the elementary school likely would need to be reconfigured anyway due to changing enrollment numbers.
Board President Scott Fisher said he thought teachers would be able to better collaborate.
"I wish my kids were younger so they could go through this," he added.
Lower Burrell resident Rita Sumney said she supported the proposal and hoped the changes would help Burrell kick up its performance and reputation.
"We shouldn't settle for just good," Sumney said. "We should be great."
Additional Information:
Coming up
Who: Burrell School Board
What: Possible approval of elementary reconfiguration
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Burrell High School library, 1021 Puckety Church Road, Lower Burrell.
