Two plans that would change where many students attend elementary school are being met by opposition from parents in several neighborhoods.
By:Nick D’Amore
Two plans that would change where many students attend elementary school are being met by opposition from parents in several neighborhoods.
Parents in the Reserve development in Monmouth Junction say the plans will force their children, who now walk to Monmouth Junction School, to take the bus across town to Indian Fields School, while parents from Kingston say the plans will end their long-term connection to Greenbrook School.
In addition, parents whose children attend Dayton-Deans School are concerned about a plan to turn those schools into two kindergarten-only buildings.
The school board is seeking ways to change school sending districts because a new elementary school is scheduled to open in fall 2002 on the corner of Route 130 and Deans Rhode Hall Road.
When that happens, the Upper Elementary School and Crossroads School will become middle schools for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. At the same time, the district’s elementary schools will change from K-4 to K-5.
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Related stories: • Panel unveils school sending maps June 7 • EDITORIAL: Parents need to get involved in mapping process June 7 |
The Redistricting Committee answered questions and addressed concerns of the Board of Education Tuesday.
School board members were concerned about how students living in the Reserve development on East New Road and attending Monmouth Junction school will be affected, what school students living in Kingston will attend and the potential for creating new bus routes. There also was concern about possible overcrowding at Greenbrook School.
The board also heard comments about a proposal to create a kindergarten-only "center" in Dayton/Deans school from 10 early childhood educators from various schools in the district.
The committee presented two plans to the board June 4.
One of the committee’s plans, called the Kindergarten Center plan, would link Dayton School with Indian Fields and Deans School with the new school, making Dayton and Deans kindergarten-only schools.
Another plan continues the traditional Dayton/Deans link, creating eight K-5 schools.
Under the proposed plans, the students living in the Reserve will be bused to Indian Fields. All attend Monmouth Junction now and none currently are bused.
Busing and walking has been a point of contention.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Jeff Scott said there are more walkers under the redistricting plans, though they are new areas being bused.
Sandy Kowalsky, transportation coordinator, said the plan does not change the numbers.
"Only the Reserve walkers have been changed," she said.
Mr. Scott said 28 percent of the elementary school students currently walk in the district, leaving 72 percent that are bused.
Committee member Chris Mariano said the idea to move the Reserve was first proposed to alleviate capacity problems at Monmouth Junction and because the Grand development across from the Reserve already was already going to Indian Fields.
"If we have a bus going to the Grand, doesn’t it make sense to pick up the Reserve as well?" she asked.
Ms. Mariano said if other areas were moved instead of the Reserve, the bus would have to drive past Monmouth Junction School to get to another school.
"It made sense to change their status. It is a smart and reasonable move for the board to take," she said.
The board also asked the committee about open enrollment, which means if there is room in a given school, parents can request that their children attend that school. However, the district would not provide transportation.
The possibility exists that Reserve parents could open enroll their children back into Monmouth Junction, but numbers may not comply with capacity and state Office of Equal Educational Opportunities regulations, said Ms. Mariano.
The OEEO requirements dictate that all schools have a mixed ethnic breakdown.
According to the committee’s findings, Monmouth Junction would be at 98.7 percent of capacity if Reserve students continue to attend Monmouth Junction.
Indian Fields, without the Reserve, would be at 79.5 percent.
The numbers are not entirely accurate because the board did not provide the committee with an area to remove from Monmouth Junction to make room for the Reserve in its hypothetical scenario, said Ms. Mariano.
The committee also addressed its proposal to divide Kingston residents into two neighborhoods the village proper and the streets off Raymond Road.
"There is a whole group of 112 students in Kingston," said Steve Parker, a committee member. "I couldn’t see any school that could handle a block that large. You can see three of four neighborhoods within the large area. The only way to accommodate that large an area that has no coverage was to subdivide them."
Mr. Parker said all of Kingston currently attends Greenbrook School, which is not in compliance with OEEO regulations.
In addition, the committee had to make room for fifth-graders returning to the elementary schools, he said.
Carole O’Brien, a school board member and chairwoman of the committee, said plans have Greenbrook falling into the range of between 374 and 400 students. Under the plans, 388 children would attend Greenbrook.
Ms. O’Brien said the committee tried to place schools on the west side of town, such as Greenbrook at 95 percent capacity levels and east side schools at 90 percent to accommodate the projected growth in those areas.
Ms. Mariano said the committee felt comfortable with the split because Raymond Road is separate from the village.
She said the committee employed its "8-year-old on a bike" rule to determine some neighborhood designations. The rule asks, "Would you let your 8-year-old ride his or her bike into that neighborhood?"
Kingston residents took issue with being redistricted out of Greenbrook School.
"We are a Greenbrook community. We asked the committee several times to try and find a way to have us stay there," said Sue Hvozdovic, a Kingston resident.
Desiree Gonzalez said the residents there feel vulnerable.
"It is most comfortable and fair to stay at Greenbrook," she said.
"Kingston has no community school, but Greenbrook has always been ours," she said.
The board also heard comments from a committee of early childhood educators brought together by Willa Spicer, assistant superintendent.
That committee’s role was to see if they felt a Kindergarten Center plan would be an educationally viable option for the board to consider.
In the report, the 10 teachers said the plan could offer some exciting opportunities for them and their students.
Kindergarten teachers said they were reluctant to outline the positives because they did not want to give the impression that they favored the plan.
Ms. Spicer reminded the committee that their job was to see if the plan was possible and viable, not to decide for or against it.
Jill Rubenstein, a kindergarten teacher at Deans School, said she has prior experience in a Kindergarten Center structure.
"It was fabulous because everything was our size," she said.
"We could make it great, but it may not be my choice," Ms. Rubenstein said.
Sharon Suskin, a K-6 literacy supervisor, offered more positives.
"We would have a positive support system of all early childhood educators," she said.
She said teachers would be able to incorporate long-term themes into their classrooms.
"Also, children at that age like to feel important. They are very ego-centered. There’s something to be said about being the oldest in the school," said Ms. Suskin.
The teachers main concern was losing out on their students’ buddies from older grades with the current Dayton/Deans setup.
"Couldn’t mentoring relationship exist between Dayton and Indian Fields and Deans in the new school as they do now between Dayton and Deans," said Mr. Watts.
Joan Kee-Louie, a kindergarten teacher at Indian Fields, said it would be difficult because the teachers are dealing with 4- and 5-year-old children and walking them to the schools may present safety issues.
Some board members said they were under the impression that the older kids would be walking to the younger kids from Indian Fields to Dayton to interact with the kindergartners. The two schools abut each other and there is a path between the two.