Currents in Education: Back to School
New school year brings many changes
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - Take a walk through the halls at Village Elementary School, or around the grounds at any of the town's four public schools, and you're likely to see a whole lot of changes going on.Perhaps the most noticeable - aside from paving projects and playground donations and at least one new sign that have spruced up the exteriors of York's schools - comes in the form of the big changes that have occurred to create new classroom space at Village to house the consolidated second grade.
The decision was made prior to the end of the 2005-2006 academic year to renovate Village's two large classrooms into four average-sized rooms, paving the way for this year's seven second-grade classrooms to be grouped together in one K-2 school.
And for Village Elementary School Principal Ruth Dealy, the near-completion of the construction project to make that move possible is a cause for celebration.
"They have done a wonderful job," Dealy said of Greg Dame and the facilities staff at Village, standing just outside the bright, airy rooms that are in the process of being finished for occupancy in the week ahead.
The rooms are painted blue, filled with natural light and easily accessible from the hallways and to each other.
Three of the new rooms will house second-grade classes and one will serve as a first-grade classroom.
The grade groupings at Village this year include seven sections each of grade 1 and grade 2, and eight half-day sections of kindergarten.
"Having all the second grade here as a class and the teachers together as a team is very exciting. It's important for curriculum, for the students and for the teachers," Dealy said. "It's maintaining the grade span that the Maine Learning Results have defined. We're really looking forward to increased time to be able to do all the things we need to do because the classes are all together."
Prior to the May 2002 budget vote, York had two K through 4 elementary schools. The loss of many staff positions due to that vote prompted a reconfiguration that had been discussed for quite some time: the creation of a K-2 school at Village and a 3-4 school at Coastal.
However, due to space constraints, the second grade had to be split between the two schools.
That is, until now.
Through creative planning for instructional space and the removal of an old two-classroom portable to be replaced with a brand new one with office space and one classroom for Title I one-on-one assistance, along with a maintenance project that got underway even before the school year ended, a unified K-2 school has become a reality.
"All of our second graders will again be together after being split into two schools for several years," School Committee Chairwoman Patty Hymanson pointed out.
The decision to keep the second grade together is one that has been supported by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Scipione, Curriculum Coordinator Dr. Maryann Minard, teachers and administrators.
And while the excitement over such changes as the second-grade consolidation and new positions for some beloved local teachers has been palpable at the schools in recent weeks, that's not all that's happening as preparations for the new academic year continue.
York's teachers will begin the academic year on Aug. 30 and 31 with teacher in-service days, though a walk through any of the schools during the summer months often found staff and teachers at work there.
As Hymanson put it, "Much work goes on during the summer to plan and prepare for the next school year and to strategize about upcoming issues."
For local students in grades K through 9, the first day of school is Tuesday, Sept. 5. The first day of school for York High School students in grades 10 through 12 is Sept. 6.
One change parents will want to note is that there will be an increase in the per-meal cost for school lunch in grades K through 8 to $1.75 for lunch.
The School Committee approved the increase this summer after learning from School Nutrition Coordinator Doris Demers that the increase was needed based on the costs of the program and that there had not been an increase sine 1999.
Other back-to-school happenings include the arrival of new staff members at each of the schools, the start of pre-season sports at York High School, a York Middle School teacher and his former students learning they will be featured as part of an upcoming Discovery Channel documentary, Coastal Ridge Elementary School teacher Deb Bradburn's status as a finalist for Maine Teacher of the Year and the School Department's recent notification that its students are scoring above the average for the state and the country.
"The School Committee and the administrators met this week for a full day retreat, graciously sponsored by the Dockside at their beautiful meeting facility," Hymanson said. "We tweaked the five-year strategic plan, which can be viewed at the Yorkschools.org website. We analyzed the results of the Maine Educational Assessment, testing English and math in grades 3 through 8 and science and social studies in grades 4 and 8. We also examined the scores from the national Terra Nova test in grades 2, 6 and 9, testing reading, language, math, science and social studies. In every test, in every subject, our students, as a group, tested in the high average or above the state or national average."
Hymanson and Minard have both noted it is important to view those results in the context of the academic program as a whole.
"We can be very proud of our teachers, our administrators, our parents and, of course, our students, for these results," Hymanson said. "We are well aware that test results do not tell the whole story about learning success, but these results can reassure our community that our children are hitting a good mark."
The School Committee's next meeting will be held after all of the town's students have returned to school, and is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 6.
"The School Committee has a lot on its plate: thinking about how the auditorium and performing arts wing could become a reality for our schools and community, getting the harsh numbers out to the voters about what would happen to our schools if the TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights) passes in November and thinking through a plan to incorporate Ogunquit students into York," Hymanson said. "We will spend many hours negotiating a new teachers' contract and we start this process at the end of August. We look forward to joining the selectmen in a Building Committee addressing new town facilities."
More information on what's happening in local education is available by visiting the York School Department's website at www.yorkschools.org.
"As always, we welcome questions, ideas, thoughts at our email address, schoolboard@yorkschools.org," Hymanson said, adding the committee would like to thank local residents "for supporting our great democratic institution: public schools."
