Letters to the Editor for December 8

Here are today’s Letters to the Editors…

Submitted by Stacy Kirsh of Langhorne:

“This is under review” appears to be the answer for most questions asked about the fifth through eighth middle school configuration.  After a one on one meeting with Dr. Hancock that lasted well over an hour the answers are no clearer than before.  There are many ideas on the table, but the timeline to implement them for a seamless and smooth transition does not make any kind of sense for the developmental or educational wellbeing of our children.

There are many promises the school board and the superintendent have made to the parents and tax payers of Neshaminy School district however, it appears many of them are empty possibilities that will cause disruption and chaos.  A great concern is the proposed time line for the implementation of this new middle school model.  Let’s begin with the teacher assignments.  The fifth grade teachers will not be guaranteed the new fifth grade positions available in the middle schools.  Hopefully, the current fifth grade teachers will be given priority to move first, but this does not even appear to be clear.  The district must take a number of factors into consideration, some include whether a teacher wants to move out of their current building, seniority, and experience.  So who will these teachers be and when will they know?  According to the current timeline, the district is hoping to assign teachers in May.  When in May will the assignments be made?  When will the staff development be completed? The two days prior to school beginning does not allow teachers to plan effectively for their new upcoming classes.  Even though Dr. Hancock made it clear there will not be any changes to the curriculum, the district does in fact plan on implementing a new Language Arts and Math block.  Maybe it is the lack of experience in teaching or working in a public school that causes Dr. Hancock to oversee this as a change in the philosophy of teaching.   The teachers need to be given an in-service on how to blend the topics and chunk the time so the children will stay focused and engaged.  This cannot be accomplished successfully in a two day in-service.

The big selling point of the fifth through eighth grade middle school model was bringing back foreign language to all the students.  It was explained that the younger students would be given a taste in a special area environment while the older students may have the possibility of more in-depth instruction.  Again, the public has been misled on this topic.  The foreign language experience for the fifth graders will be another curriculum change for the classroom teachers.  They will be expected, without training, to incorporate foreign language into their already packed curriculum.  The example given on how this would work is if the students are studying France then the teacher will interweave French words for hello, chair, and door into the study.  The classroom teacher will be expected to bring in words from another language into their instruction, even though they are not certified foreign language teachers.  With that being said, the public was misled.

Another area of miscommunication focuses around the offerings for extracurricular activities and recess time.  The district has stated “the number of and type of programs will be determined by the availability of teachers and volunteers”.  It has been suggested at board meetings that parents could take on leadership roles for some of these activities.  This practice is not exactly legal.  All adults that come into contact with students must have all required clearances up to date.  This process is time consuming and costs money, plus the vacancy must be posted and filled with compensation.  Another topic that has been skirted is recess.  The definition of recess according to dictionary.com is a temporary withdrawal or cessation from the usual work or activity, and it appears the district is going to take that definition literally.  As it appears now the students will be given few minutes of down time in the classroom.  Again, no clear decision made on an issue concerning many parents.

The district is planning on moving hundreds of additional students into the middle schools without supplementary administration. This is a huge concern when dealing with discipline and emotional development.  Will the current administration be able to handle the demands of the additional students as well as their parents?  The board meetings also mentioned the children having an advocate available to help the younger children.  Who are the advocates?  When this question was directly asked, no specific answers were offered.  There is a possibility of additional guidance counselors, but doesn’t that also mean there may not be additional guidance counselors?

Every parent in this district needs to be aware of the misleading information the district has presented.  The parents have every right to be outraged by this band aid that is being used on a hemorrhage that the Neshaminy School Board has created.  By waiting a year to implement this new configuration, the possibility of success increases.

All in all, when a public school is developing a new program and a new configuration that will directly affect the children in the school district, all questions should have specific answers and a clear reachable timeline.  Waiting to move to the fifth through eighth configuration until the 2016-2017 school year makes sense for all involved.  Parents will have clear and concise answers, programs will be strong and teachers will be trained.  Do right by the tax payers and the children in this district and make the commitment to do this correctly. Please consider making the right decision and wait to reconfigure the middle school so there are no unanswered questions.

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