GREENFIELD — Parents and teachers appealed to members of the School Committee Wednesday night, asking them to reconsider the recommendation put forward last month on how to best “reenvision” the use of school buildings in the district.
“The idea of children only having two years at a school before being uprooted and sent to a new building with new teachers, principals, playgrounds and expectations seems like an anxiety-inducing scenario,” said Alex Wenger, a father of a student at the Discovery School at Four Corners.
Four potential options were provided to the district in a study by the New England School Development Council (NESDEC). Last month, the ad hoc committee tasked with reenvisioning how the district uses its buildings recommended the option that entails moving the fifth grade from the middle school to the elementary level, reconfiguring elementary schools to specific grade-span schools and moving eighth grade from the high school to the middle school.
In addition to that option, the Best Educational Use of School Facilities Study by NESDEC, which was completed last spring, outlined three other potential paths forward:
■Realigning elementary school enrollment boundaries to evenly distribute students across elementary schools.
■Reopening Green River School on Meridian Street as a kindergarten through fifth grade school, moving fifth grade to the elementary level and moving eighth grade to the middle school.
■Expanding one or more elementary schools to ease crowding, moving fifth grade to the elementary level and moving eighth grade to the middle school.
School Committee members emphasized that no vote had been taken last month on any of the options. They did, however, vote to direct Superintendent Christine DeBarge to gather information on the impact school reconfiguration would have on transportation, and information around the likely permanent closure of the Green River School.
“This is an ongoing process,” said School Committee Chair Amy Proietti. “This is a major process. Not once in this entire discussion or process … so far have we put a timeline on any of this in terms of changes. … When you make a change, you have to start somewhere.”
Still, Wenger, along with other parents and teachers, sought more opportunities for feedback on the potential paths forward as well as better communication in general between the School Committee and administration, and teachers and the public. And while many spoke in favor of moving the fifth grade to the elementary level and the eighth grade to the middle school level, not everyone was as supportive of the proposed grade-level schools.
“I want to thank you for hosting the parent forums,” said Luke Martin, a parent and teacher in the district. “I attended those forums, at least one of them. My main question … was what do teachers think is best for students? I may be biased, but we have over 100 experts in what works well with students day-to-day in classrooms. What do they think is the best option?”
Martin said administrators attended a staff meeting prior to last month’s School Committee meeting, during which they were presented with four potential paths forward and asked if staff had any questions or opinions.
“This is not soliciting meaningful feedback,” he said. “That is checking a box. … When do we get a chance to have our voices heard, and to provide real feedback on the options?”
Although committee members were receptive of the desire to solicit more feedback from teachers, they felt more research was needed at this stage, particularly with respect to timelines, transportation and the costs of building reconfiguration, before setting up additional meetings.
“I think [staff] want to hear these answers, too,” said Jean Wall, chair of the ad hoc committee. “We welcome your input always; we’re not trying to cram anything down your throats. We totally have no intention of implementing anything before the end of next school year. We have lots of talking time if you’ll work with us.”
Ultimately, the School Committee voted to task the Re-envisioning Our School Facilities Subcommittee with continuing the conversation and including a draft timeline.
“We may end up at the end of all this with one or two or three options as we try to move forward,” Proietti said, “and we try to look at implementing different pieces of this.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.