Three schools in three years?
Also of concern to some parents is the fate of kids going into the 3rd grade this year, as Padalino’s plan also includes moving the 5th grade into the middle school. Should their school close before the 2013-14 school year and the proposed grade configuration go into effect, Zena students would spend one year in a new elementary school before middle school. That’s three schools in three years.
Padalino said that the issue of having to move around is already being faced by many children impacted by the closure of Meagher.
“We had the same situation when we looked at the JFK and Meagher merger,” he said, noting that while not ideal, difficult transitions are sometimes unavoidable. “You have a 4th grader this year who was in Meagher, 5th grade they’re in JFK and 6th grade they’ll be in middle school. That’s a product of doing what we’re doing.”
Padalino has repeatedly said that consolidating the schools and reconfiguring the grades will actually offer more educational and intervention opportunities than are currently available to students, noting this week that some teachers currently shuttled between schools and spending a significant portion of their day traveling will be able to focus their attention on one school for the entire day under the terms of his proposal.
“I think we’ll be gaining a step, not losing a step,” Padalino said. “A reading teacher being in a building half a day and traveling across the district to be in another building a quarter of a day as opposed to having a reading teacher who is in one building all day to provide that service to students, that’s where we see an improvement. We’ll be able to deliver more to our students in fewer schools.”
For Fisher, the process has been frustrating.
“Dr. Padalino does not have an easy job to do, I grant you that. But Dr. Padalino also does not live in Ulster County, he does not pay Ulster County taxes, his children to not go to Kingston schools, and I think that Dr. Padalino came into a very difficult situation and I think that he made very easy cuts.”
The Board of Education last week scheduled a special meeting on Thursday, August 30 to settle the issue before the school year begins. Whatever the future of the district holds, trustees have said, they want students, parents and teachers to have plenty of time to adjust. The School Board is scheduled to meet once before then, on Wednesday, August 15 at the Cioni Administration Building on Crown Street.
It seems like it should be simple: if three schools need closing, it should be the three lowest performing schools, and then figure out from THERE how to relocate the kids, etc.
The system *should* be a meritocracy.
I am amazed that a special meeting of the school board of education is being held on Thursday, August 30, 2012 when many in our district are off on vacation. They have not even published the location yet. This is the Thursday before Labor Day weekend hopefully even working parents and taxpayers are getting to take this weekend off. I think it is unprofessional and unethical to vote on this redistricting proposal when school is not in session and meeting attendance is sparcely attended over the summer. Why not educate the parents and teachers and community on the proposal in September and October and let a democratic vote happen in November so this will be a transparent process. As stated by Dr. Padalino this financial crisis will still exist and this is not the solution to all of our financial problems. We need to make sound educational decisions for our elementary and middle school children. This is a rush job. Please postpone your vote. School Board Representatives, you are our voice, please listen to our plea and concerns, they have not been ironed out yet, you are our vote. Please do the right thing.
When you put the dollar in front of the well being of the child, than you should hang up your education degree and go back to school for your MBA. Shame on you for not seeing the bigger picture.