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2008-01-03: Your Thoughts on Our Near-Future School Configuration Please email your responses to the questions below to the School Committee at info @ waylandschoolcommittee.org or mail them to us at Wayland School Committee, 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland MA 01778. The Wayland School Committee continues to study the reconfiguration of grade levels at the elementary school (ES), middle school (MS), and/or high school (HS) levels in anticipation of possible continuing enrollment decline. Flat or declining enrollment is not limited to Wayland, but characteristic of many Massachusetts towns including several of our peers, and of the state as a whole. We are looking for input from Wayland parents, other residents, and educators. The Committee's overall objective is to work with our educators and the community in appropriately balancing educational, financial, logistical, and timing considerations. Almost certainly, an enrollment decline will result in the ES closing of either Happy Hollow or Loker, both of which are considerably smaller than Claypit Hill. Superintendent Gary Burton has convened an ad hoc committee to explore the relative merits of which of the two to keep open. We recognize that there is much background information that may not be available to everyone, and that the language we use may not be completely clear without substantial elaboration. Some additional information is available in this document. That said, we ask that you answer the following questions in the spirit that they are asked, caveating your comments as necessary. Please keep in mind that our intent is not necessarily to collect statistically significant information, but rather to gauge the sense of the broader Wayland community. Question 1: At present, we do not imagine changing the grade 9-12 configuration at the High School, but rather, focusing on the lower grades. What are your thoughts on this direction? Question 2: At the ES level, we might (a) retain our neighborhood school model (Options A, C, H, and I in the document referenced above) or (b) move to a consolidated grade level model (Options B, D, E, F, and G; for instance, grades K-2 in one ES and 3-5 in the other). The Committee and the Administration lean towards the neighborhood model because substantially better logistics outweigh educational and and in some cases financial outcomes that don't strongly favor either model. What is your thinking on options (a) and (b)? Question 3: We can perhaps achieve the financial benefits of a reconfiguration by moving a grade from one building to another. Three possible options are (a) establishing two 1-5 neighborhood schools and keeping the third elementary "half school" open for temporarily housing the Kindergarten (with administrative duties carried out by one of the two remaining principals) and accommodating other (paid) community uses (document Option C) or (b) temporarily moving the fifth grade to the Middle School and establishing two K-4 neighborhood schools until enrollments are such that the fifth grade can be returned to the ES level (document Option I) or (c) permanently moving the fifth grade to the Middle School and establishing two K-4 neighborhood schools (also Option I). Which of the three options do you prefer, and why? Question 4: We discussed and heard from residents on the Kindergarten/half school option at a recent forum. We would like to hear more about thoughts on the fifth grade move option. Which of the following do you favor and why: (a) retaining the "1 teacher per class" elementary model, (b) moving to a Middle School model in which the students move from teacher to teacher for each of their four main subjects: math, science, English and social studies, or (c) implementing a hybrid of the two (for instance, separating language arts/social studies and math/science instruction into two separate teaching roles)? Question 5: From a timing perspective, assuming an approved override in the spring of 2008 and sufficient budgets thereafter, we don't anticipate making a change before enrollments allow without harming our educational system. At present, that would appear to be the 2009-2010 or 2010-2011 school years at the earliest. Do you agree that we should not rush the reconfiguration unless forced to do so financially, or would you make a several year compromise in educational quality to save money? Question 6:What age children, if any, do you have in your household, and if you are a Wayland resident (as opposed to a non-resident educator) in which elementary school district do you live? Question 7:Do you have any other comments on the Wayland Public Schools? Thanks very much for your time and attention. Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 7th, at 7:30pm in the School Committee meeting room on the second floor of the Town Building (full meeting schedule). Thank you for your attention, Wayland School Committee www.waylandschoolcommittee.org and attendance at public meetings and forums (schedule). This newsletter is archived online at www.waylandschoolcommittee.org/newsletter.htm |