When pupils in the Howell K-8 School District began the 2015-16 school year on Sept. 8 they did so in the district’s newly reconfigured buildings.
Administrators changed the configuration of the district’s schools from K-5 and 6-8 to K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 as a way to balance enrollment in Howell’s schools.
Howell’s schools are now paired as follows:
Pupils will attend the Greenville School (K-2), Ramtown School (3-5) and Howell Middle School South (6-8)
Pupils will attend the Taunton School (K-2), Aldrich School (3-5) and Howell Middle School South (6-8)
Pupils will attend the Griebling School (K-2), Memorial Elementary School (3-5) and Howell Middle School North (6-8).
Pupils will attend the Adelphia School (K-2), Ardena School (3-5) and Howell Middle School North (6-8).
Pupils will attend the Land O’ Pines School (K-2), Newbury School (3-5) and Howell Middle School North (6-8). In the week prior to the start of school, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Isola said the transition was on schedule to be the success he anticipated it would be.
Administrators said the total enrollment has declined from about 6,200 pupils in 2014-15 to about 6,000 pupils in 2015-16.
In April 2013, the district’s enrollment was about 6,390 pupils, according to the Board of Education at that time.
During the past two years, the board was faced with the reality that despite the district’s dropping enrollment, some schools were overcrowded and some buildings were operating under capacity.
Officials said it was necessary to balance the enrollment among the schools so that all of Howell’s pupils could be provided with the same educational opportunities in kindergarten through the eighth grade.
“A lot of the things we faced (with the reconfiguration) were no different than previous years, this was just on a larger scale,” Isola said. “This is the work of school districts, to reorganize each and every summer. We would move, probably, on some years, 20 per- cent of our staff on a given year. The fact that we ended up moving probably 50 percent was a bigger task, but we knew how to do that.”
Isola said the most significant challenge administrators faced after announcing the reconfiguration plan was “building tolerance and understanding of change. It is a big change and change is something that is unsettling for people.”
He said he believes Howell’s parents are ready to partner with the school district to ensure their children’s educational success.
“I can’t wait for students to arrive,” he said a few days before the opening bell. “There will be glitches as there are in the opening of every school year. … but I can’t wait to get kids into our buildings and in front of our great teaching staff and support staff and take care of our kids again. Because that will prove the commitment of this district and the good work that lies ahead of us.”
Among staff changes, Danielle Palazzolo, the former vice principal at the Griebling School, is now the principal at the Adelphia School; Raymond Gredder, a former teacher at the Land O’ Pines School, is now the vice principal of the Newbury School; and Leonard Abline is the district’s new director of security. He comes to Howell with more than 27 years of law enforcement experience, according to district administrators.
Perhaps the most significant move in the reconfiguration was the change from three middle schools to two middle schools. Howell Middle School North and Howell Middle School South are now the only middle schools.
Memorial Middle School is now Memorial Elementary School. A playground has been added to the property and other changes were made in the conversion process.
“Memorial Elementary School will be an outstanding facility,” Isola said. “We have one of our veteran principals, Alysson Keelen, there. Ms. Keelen opened the Adelphia School in 2003. She has already opened a building from scratch and that is what is happening when we look at Memorial becoming an elementary school.
“Ms. Keelen’s experience with the opening of Adelphia has been so valuable in this process because she knows about bringing a staff together for the first time. She knows about making sure the right set-up is in each room because she did it once before. She established a culture in the Adelphia School. Now, we are really excited about her ability to be able to establish an elementary culture in the hallways of Memorial Elementary School,” the superintendent said.
Laptop computers have been distributed to students in grades three through eight. There will be 1,800 laptop computers distributed in grades three through five and those units are kept at school. There will be 2,100 laptop computers distributed in grades six through eight which students are allowed to take home. Students in kindergarten grades through second grade are assigned one iPad for every two students.
“We infuse technology in our students from kindergarten,” Isola said.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Personnel Bruce Preston said, “Technology increases the speed at which children can access information and apply it in new and invigorating situations, in a way that they have not been able to apply information before.
“What we are also seeing this year with some of our new curriculum (is that) every grade level will have a unit on coding. We are going to be incorporating computer science and coding into each classroom.
“There will be an increase in personalized project-based learning throughout the curriculum. We would not be able to do that without the technology, not as fluidly,” Preston said.
Although technology is now a regular part of the curriculum, Preston and Isola emphasized the importance of teachers.
“High-quality teachers still make all the difference. The computer just provides an extended environment in which the students can learn,” Preston said.
Isola said, “Howell is not about the computer, it is about the learning. I think that is important to take away. The computer does not become the dominant item in the classroom. It is still about student learning.
“The computer is a vehicle to help enrich that experience and make it more authentic for careers students may end up doing. The No. 1 factor to a student’s success in school is a highly effective teacher. We bought laptops to continue the learning process through the great work of teachers.”