Schenectady City School District Forum
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Schenectady City School District Forum

Please share your thoughts and ideas.
 
HomeHome  PortalPortal  Latest imagesLatest images  SearchSearch  RegisterRegister  Log in  

 

 suggestions...

Go down 
+3
A Schdy Lifer
SrrMom
abcd
7 posters
AuthorMessage
abcd




Posts : 1
Join date : 2009-01-29

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: suggestions...   suggestions... EmptyThu 29 Jan 2009, 7:30 pm

Maybe we could use this thread as a place for parent/staff suggestions?
I was thinking that maybe bus monitors would make parents feel better about the concern of younger and older students mixing on the bus. I think that the staff could do fine within the building, it is places like the bus and arrival/dismissal that could be problematic.
Back to top Go down
SrrMom




Posts : 4
Join date : 2009-01-28

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Re: suggestions...   suggestions... EmptyFri 30 Jan 2009, 3:47 pm

abcd wrote:
Maybe we could use this thread as a place for parent/staff suggestions?
I was thinking that maybe bus monitors would make parents feel better about the concern of younger and older students mixing on the bus. I think that the staff could do fine within the building, it is places like the bus and arrival/dismissal that could be problematic.

Absolutely!! I couldn't agree more. The only problem I've had with Howe was last year on the bus. I would encourage Brown to use Monitors!!
Back to top Go down
A Schdy Lifer




Posts : 19
Join date : 2009-01-31

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Food for thought.....   suggestions... EmptySun 01 Feb 2009, 8:03 pm

Here are my thoughts: I was the Vice President of PTO when you first introduced the proposal and currently I am Treasurer so I obviously have a huge attachment to the HOWE staff. If this is not about saving money and making this a smooth transition why can't it be that the HOWE faculty as a whole be allowed to totally move with the program? I understand that not all of the staff may want to move and that is their choice by far, but from what I hear due to the amount of time I am there and from being a union employee in my past that due to contracts this/that can't be decided. Hogwash!! I look at it this way - the school programs are merging into one and building seniority should be totally dismissed from the equation. What if HOWE school was big enough and Central Park wasn't and they had to move 7th and 8th grade over to our school - Wouldn't the 6th grade teachers at Central Park be reassigned to other schools??? Our sixth grade teachers know the program they need to be the ones given the opportunity to continue our program.

Another thought, and once again you said it isn't about saving money, it's about increasing the program to a k-8 program - if there are going to be a larger group of 8th graders our first year then why can't Mrs. Coffey come and be the Administrator for K-5 the first year and have the assistant principal be totally in charge of any disciplinary issues for the building and the existing principal concentrate mainly 6-8th grade until the dust settles. By then Mrs. Coffey will be closer to retirement, Tanya would have some guidance from her regarding all the new staff that she will be meeting and the parents of Howe and staff of Howe will not have to deal with the stress of a new leader on top of a new environment.

A final thought is our school nurse has been with us forever! She knows our kids better than anyone and with the amount of special needs the district approved an assistant nurse to be staffed. Wouldn't you think that maybe you might want two nurses for the school - once again at least for the first year so that we don't have a medical problem that may be blown out of control due to the inexperience of not having the elementary nurse there from Howe.

As a parent, I want this to happen - but I want it to happen smoothly. I feel our test scores won't hinder if we have few bumps in our road along the way.
Back to top Go down
Parent&Homeowner




Posts : 23
Join date : 2009-02-02

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Re: suggestions...   suggestions... EmptyMon 02 Feb 2009, 10:36 pm

I agree 100% with A Schdy Lifer, if this is really about increasing the Howe program to a K-8 and not about money then there has to be a way to make this happen smoothly for all.

Howe's school nurse has to go to CP and there should not even be a question as to how to work that out, just do it. Since my daughter has nut allergies and asthma, I go into her office and see just how many other kids she cares for and let me tell you the number is only growing. She even has an assistant this year, so you cannot say that the nurse at CP that has been dealing with older kids is going to be fine on her own. With the amount of kids that would be in CP with the change and different ages I see no reason to have both, especially until things get settled down and the kids get to know their new surroundings. The biggest reason/concern for this move should be for the kids, to keep them in a great program, with great teachers and staff and other families that care and want the same for their kids. So show us it's not just about money and make this change to a K-8 happen and keep those teachers, staff and without a doubt nurse, please!
Back to top Go down
Involved Parent




Posts : 4
Join date : 2009-02-03

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: In favor of Central Park K-8 (what we know as Howe now but improved)   suggestions... EmptyTue 03 Feb 2009, 6:48 am

My family is strongly in favor of the proposed K-8 International Magnet at Central Park. We currently have children at Howe. I will post more later but, for now, I would like to say that it is precisely the location of the Central Park building that we like. The park offers so many opportunities for learning -- from the trails to the greenhouses to the bike path around the pond. Last year there was talk about connecting a bike ride with our bike safety month but there were concerns about biking with kids on busy roads. Well, what better and safer biking look than around Iroquios Lake? There are great fields for cross country skiing (and our programs owns a class set of skis) and playing ball. There's the pond for ice skating this time year or learning about aquatic life or fishing during warmer months. Like many things, the quality of the location depends on what window you look out. Have you ever stood at the top of Devil's Hill and looked out over the park. There is great potential there. Involved Parent
Back to top Go down
Rob




Posts : 12
Join date : 2009-01-28

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Re: suggestions...   suggestions... EmptyTue 03 Feb 2009, 5:43 pm

How can it not be about money?
Still,with full disclosure from the school district we can better see our way through to
the best possible conclusions.

I know that discretion is important, but the fact is I'm afraid
faculty are gonna get axed and not see it coming. If it is not
about money, why let anyone in the district go? Does the move protect jobs?
Would people be let go whether or not the move goes through?
Does the move reduce the amount of personelle available for the kids?
Back to top Go down
Admin
Admin



Posts : 137
Join date : 2008-10-29

suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Re: suggestions...   suggestions... EmptyThu 05 Feb 2009, 3:03 pm

Rob wrote:
How can it not be about money?
Still,with full disclosure from the school district we can better see our way through to
the best possible conclusions.

I know that discretion is important, but the fact is I'm afraid
faculty are gonna get axed and not see it coming. If it is not
about money, why let anyone in the district go? Does the move protect jobs?
Would people be let go whether or not the move goes through?
Does the move reduce the amount of personelle available for the kids?

A: The district as well as our state and country are in a difficult financial situation. I could not recommend this proposal if it was going to cost more of our scarce resources to accomplish the K-8 move. The number of students is not changing with this proposal, however where they attend school will. The class size goals are the same for the district so the number of classroom teachers won’t change either. However, with the move there are personnel who will need to be relocated outside the classrooms, specifically a secretary, paraprofessionals possibly, administrators, and nurses. The jobs will still be in the district but perhaps not in the same locations. With the dwindling enrollments at Central Park Middle School, teaching positions will change regardless of this move. With sixth grades being added to elementary schools and out of middle schools some of that staff will need to be reassigned as well. This is a cost neutral proposal in the sense that there is very little financial savings or cost to the proposal.
Back to top Go down
https://tell-us.forumotion.com
Sponsored content





suggestions... Empty
PostSubject: Re: suggestions...   suggestions... Empty

Back to top Go down
 
suggestions...
Back to top 
Page 1 of 1

Permissions in this forum:You cannot reply to topics in this forum
Schenectady City School District Forum :: Closed and Locked :: K-8 Proposal-
Jump to: