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FPS Reorganization FAQs

DISTRICT REORGANIZATION WORKING GROUP
RESPONSES TO
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Last updated 1/15/2010

Initial Questions | About SPED | Why Change? | Why K-2 & 3-5

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Why K-2 and 3-5?

How were different scenarios evaluated?

The Task Force report, issued in November 2008, identified several different grade level structures.  As we reviewed the information regarding these structures, we considered four factors: busing needs, consolidation of resources and staffing, program placement, and opportunities for collaboration opportunities and professional development delivery.

Why did you choose K-2/3-5 as the model?

• Collaboration opportunities/professional development delivery – teachers will have additional opportunities for collaborating with colleagues.In addition, it will be easier to coordinate district-wide professional development for grade levels.

EXAMPLE 1:  When trying to provide professional development to all second grade teachers across the district, we will need to coordinate schedules from three schools, rather than eight.

EXAMPLE 2:  When schools provide building-based professional development on a new initiative, such as the Lucy Calkins writing program, teachers often are divided into two groups (K-2 and 3-5) because of the different needs of the students.  This means that each school must hire two providers.  If each school was K-2 or 3-5, each school would only need to hire one provider, thereby reducing the cost of the professional development by half.

• Program balance – each school will have approximately 4 standard curriculum classes, and approximately 4 “program” classrooms.  Creating this “economy of scale” ensures that effective integration opportunities for students in programs, as well as sufficient peers for standard curriculum students.
• Busing needs – Maximizing assignment by residence for non-program students provides opportunities for consolidated busing.
• Staffing costs – by keeping programs together, we are reducing the levels of staffing needed at each school.  For example, by having a dedicated program for students with autism in one pair, we do not need to replicate the program in each school.  This saves costs, as well as provides a stronger program for the students in the program.
• Focus – each school will be able to focus on one specific developmental stage. Right now, principals, literacy specialists, special educators, art, music, and physical education teachers and others in an elementary school need to be familiar with both primary and intermediate development, as well as six years worth of curriculum frameworks. With only three grade levels in a school, these specialists can focus on those three grade levels, providing more effective support to teachers and instruction to students.
• Consolidated resources – both personnel and materials can be distributed to schools based on the developmental needs of the schools.  As we implement RTI (Response to Intervention) as a model for student academic support, that model will be more effectively implemented if resources are consolidated in the 3 K-2 schools than spread among 6 K-5 schools.

FOR EXAMPLE:  Currently 4 elementary school receive Title I funding.  These schools have additional staff who provide support to struggling students in reading, writing and mathematics.  In a K-2/3-5 structure, the funding would be distributed among the 3 K-2 schools.  This would mean that all schools at a level would have the personnel necessary for an effective implementation of RTI.

If K-2/3-5 is the best, why are the choice/charter schools staying K-5?

The choice/charter schools have specific needs; if would be inefficient to replicate them in multiple schools.

FOR EXAMPLE:  In the Two-Way program, the goal is for students to be come biliterate, bilingual, and bicultural.  This means that things like announcements and presentations are done in both English and Spanish.  If the Two-Way program is split between two schools (K-2 and 3-5), then standard curriculum students in the other classes will have information presented in a language they don’t understand.  Two years ago, Barbieri became a “Two-Way School” because it became difficult to run a standard program alongside the two-way program.  It is both more fiscally efficient and better for students to keep the Two-Way in a K-5 school. 

Because we have an even number of elementary schools, if there is 1 K-5 school, there needs to be a second K-5 school.

• Research shows that when children of early childhood age (defined by a particular study as ages 3-8), are grouped together in educational settings, there can be more of a focus on the developmental needs of this age level, which are different than children in grades 3-5.Because the focus and the concentration of services (special education, related arts, literacy intervention) has only a 3 grade span, teachers are able to go deeper into their ability to integrate curriculum areas and provide appropriate services for the smaller range of grade levels.In our current model, service providers are responsible for a range of 6 grade levels, lessening their ability to appropriately deliver instruction (ie:2 special educators responsible for services to 6 grades as opposed to 2 special educators responsible for services to 3 grade levels).

   

• One particular study reveals that when students of grades K-2 are grouped together in one educational setting, with a concentration and focus of services, there is a decrease by 50% of special education referrals in grades 3-5.

   

• The benefit of having 8 classrooms at a grade level, as opposed to 3 or 4, is that there are more opportunities for students to be distributed more evenly across that particular grade level.For example, in some of our schools right now, there is 1 regular education classroom, 1 special education classroom, 1 sheltered English class, and 1 bi-lingual education class. This produces no opportunities for children from the 1 regular education class to be dispersed equally as they move from one grade to the next.They must remain with the same students, in the same class, for consecutive years, which is certainly not beneficial as the exposure to different mixes of students throughout the grades is important.

   

• Additionally, the larger number of classes in grades K-2 allows more opportunities for students from special needs and language learner classes to be integrated on a more regular basis.The increase of standard classrooms provides additional places for special education and ELLs to spend time with their typical peers at a grade level.

   

• An additional educational benefit of the K-2/3-5 model is that the building principal, who is the instructional leader of the building, has more of a focus for planning developmentally appropriate school initiatives, activities, and professional development.In the current model, the building principal is responsible for a 6 grade span to ensure appropriate growth, curriculum implementation, and professional development.The learning needs for early childhood and intermediate elementary students is different and finding a balance in the current model often casts a much wider net.

   

• Transitions at the elementary level:although some research supports less transitions for students throughout the elementary years, there is also research that supports that students who have the opportunity to make one transition with a larger and familiar group of the same students between grades 2 and 3, before the critical middle school years, they are more adept at making the later transition to middle school.The transition from grade 5 to 6 is often difficult for students as they have become so accustomed to the same place, same kids and same environment for so long.Adding a transition between 2nd and 3rd grade, at a less vulnerable age, has assisted with children making an easier transition to middle school.

   

• The early childhood years (3-8) are defined as the “foundation” for future student success in school.Another advantage to a K-2/3-5 model is the ability for staff and administrators who have been trained in specific areas of child development, teaching and learning related to early childhood to expand the number of professionals they are working with on a daily basis in a specific area of expertise.More staff with specialized knowledge and experience adds a wider range to draw on amongst colleagues.If the education of K-2 children can be a more concentrated focus on providing the foundation, or building blocks, for future schooling, research shows that students gain more benefits as they enter the 3-5 school.