By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
Hopewell Valley Regional School District will not be offering multiage program (MAP) classes next year.
Hopewell Valley schools Superintendent Thomas Smith explained why at Monday night’s meeting of the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education.
According to one web site, multiage grouping refers to “a class grouping in which students of different ages and identified age levels are grouped together in a single classroom for the purpose of providing effective instruction . . . The multiage environment is deliberately created for the benefit of children, not because of economic needs or declining enrollment. The intention is to allow children of various ages and abilities to progress at their own individual rate rather than according to specified objectives for a particular grade level.”
According to Dr. Smith, not many places use this model anymore.
Often, he said, the success of the program is tied to the quality of the teacher involved and that “lots of things can be replicated in another class” setting.
With enrollment declining and the need for consistency in offerings among the four elementary schools (Hopewell Elementary, Stony Brook, Bear Tavern and Toll Gate Grammar), the decision, Dr. Smith said, was made not to continue the program — which now involves a grade one-two combination at both Hopewell and Stony Brook Elementary School. Up until last year, he said, Hopewell had a grade two-three class, which was closed due to declining enrollment. The other two grade schools have not been involved in this program.
The program — which combined classes of two grade levels — originated in the mid-1990s in Hopewell Valley and was implemented by two former Hopewell Elementary School principals — Steve Cochrane and Mike Fitzpatrick.
Dr. Smith said not all parents like MAP; some prefer a traditional classroom environment.
However, parent Alicia Nayfield, who spoke to the board Monday about MAP at Stony Brook, is a fan of MAP and expressed her concerns.
”Stony Brook didn’t know about this. Hopewell did,” she said.
She said she found out about the termination of the “very beloved” program from her son. She charged the district with an “appalling lack of communication.”
Dr. Smith said the parents affected should have gotten the information first. A child should not have been told.
Board President Lisa Wolff, who had a child in MAP, said parents in Hopewell knew last year that the termination of the program was under consideration.
Parents at Stony Brook were not told, a woman in the audience said.
Ms. Nayfield, who also was concerned about the future of the children in MAP at Stony Brook, was assured Monday that the children involved in this year’s program would be kept together.
