The Westbury School District is currently looking into making a major change to its elementary schools, as it explores the option of no longer separating students by grades, but putting grades 1-5 at Park Avenue, Powells Lane and Drexel Avenue.
The board has been in talks to change the grade structure at the schools for several years and at the Nov. 20 board of education meeting, they authorized the superintendent to follow through on the planning process. The district currently operates under the Princeton Plan, which separates schools by grade.
Students attend first and second grade at Park Avenue School and then go on to either Drexel Avenue or Powells Lane for grades 3 to 5. In a letter addressed to staff on the school district website on Dec. 1, Superintendent Dr. Mary Lagnado said that the board of education had authorized an elementary school grade reconfiguration and that the three elementary school buildings would house grades one through five starting in the 2015-16 school year.
“There have been many talks from prior boards of education for this need. It’s something that’s been discussed for many years,” said Lagnado in a phone interview. “Studies show children do well in schools they are more years in with less transition. This will help the social emotional growth of children.”
If the change is implemented, Michelle Johnson will have all three of her elementary age children in one school next year, as opposed to spread out over two buildings (plus a child at the middle school). She thinks the reconfiguration is a great idea—both for parents and students.
“If they’re all in the same school it will alleviate stress on a lot of parents,” said Johnson, who is the PTA president for Powells Lane. “And if students are in an environment for a long time, they’ll feel more secure and nurtured and the end result will be better. It’ll help the emotional aspect of the child if they can bond over a longer span as opposed to being there for two years and then having to learn a whole new environment and faces. It helps to see the same faces day in and day out.”
And while social-emotional growth was the main motivating factor for the board of education’s decision to drop the Princeton Plan, trustees also think it can help overcrowding in the schools for the short term.
“This would be able to even out [the schools] but overcrowding won’t be solved by reconfiguration. It’s a band-aid approach. But the immediate reason is that we’re looking to impact student achievement. That’s the primary focus at this point,” said board president Dr. Pless Dickerson.
Park Avenue PTA President Marie Guilfu, a mother of two, says she thinks the reconfiguration could be a good idea.
“This could be a good thing if it alleviates some of the overcrowding by spreading the students out,” said Guilfu “It hasn’t been necessarily inconvenient to have [my kids] at two schools but it would be nice to have them in the same place. And it would be more conducive to being more active for both of them in the PTA.”
But Guilfu did have several questions about the plan.
“I’m interested in knowing how they’ll determine who goes where,” said Guilfu. “Also, how will they handle the bussing? One of the reasons for Park Avenue staring so late is the bussing so how are they going to resolve three buildings at the same time?”
Lagnado notes that the district is still in the preliminary stages of planning and that how students would be separated into schools has not yet been decided. She said the next steps are setting up committees and a timeline for meetings and discussion for all involved stakeholders.
The three elementary schools would all start at the same time, and Lagnado says she doesn’t expect this to be a problem in terms of bussing. The district is making every push to implement the reconfiguration by the next school year and Lagnado is optimistic it can happen.
“We have adequate software that monitors where children are and where they’re coming from,” she said. “Eight months is enough time to implement. We’re not talking about the movement of all the children, it’s not that massive. It’s doable.”
In addition to students moving schools, teachers will be shifted around. Christine Corbett, president of the Westbury Teachers Association, anticipates that teachers will be moved based on their experience with certain grade levels and curriculum. She said that as a whole, teachers have voiced excitement over the plan.
“It’s going to be different, but we see it as an opportunity to have a new perspective,” said Corbett. “Although teachers are saddened to leave their school homes and educational families, teachers are committed to doing what’s right for students and will make it work. I’m sure it’ll be successful because of the quality of our staff.”
And she thinks the reconfiguration is a great move for students.
“The continuity and consistently of being in one building will have a positive effect,” said Corbett. “Children in general, like and need consistency and continuity. The movement of going from building to building is problematic and I think sometimes it interrupts education.”
