One of the disappointing side effects of the current (and growing) overcrowding of our K-2 schools is the reduction in specialist time due to lack of adequate space. Those who have followed the unified school project closely, have heard this echoed often.
And for good reason, this is an unfortunate but representative example of the many ways our children’s education and developmental opportunities are stunted, despite the tireless work of our amazing teachers, due to structural inefficiencies in our schools.
Our current K-2 schools were built for a Scarborough very different in size and make-up than the growing Scarborough of today. And they were built for educational best practice that have since grown and evolved. All of these “fixes” have been developed to accommodate for schools not built in size, scope, or capabilities for today’s students and directly contradict all the most up-to-date and respected research and learning models for educational success.
This means we aren’t just facing inconveniences in our current schools, we are short-changing our students and their futures. Programs like foreign language, STEM/STEAM, and increased services for students are all limited by the amount of space available
But what does this reduction in specialist time look like in action? I’d like to dig into some more detail so you understand the background and how it affects our student’s day to day.
During the 2020-21 and 21-22 school year, our “specials” blocks were reduced from 40 to 30 minutes. This allowed time for cleaning and material set-up needs resulting from the strict COVID-necessitated distancing and safety protocols. Luckily, we have been able to restore some of this time following the dropping of COVID restrictions and health protocols.
Specials have been restored to 40 minutes, but lunch groupings have gradually increased in size necessitating more lunch periods per day, thus less access for instructional activities. Outdoor space is also limited in both amount and adequacy for PE instruction. However, once again due to the phenomenal teachers and staff, efforts are made to get students outside for special events like bike safety, snowshoeing, and outdoor games.
This is the situation across all three of our K-2 schools.
A related challenge is having to schedule classes and community events in the cafeteria, gymnasium, and auditorium space. The transitions and scheduling around lunch creates significant disruption to how each building is scheduled with respect to these specials, academic blocks, and lunch periods.
For example, currently, due to the multi-purpose room model schools have to use, PE class is dictated by prep and clean up for lunch. This reduces the availability of the “gym” space between 60 to 105 minutes per day, depending on the school. And this will only get worse as enrollment increases and we need more access for things in the gym space other than what it’s intended for: physical education.
Likewise, art and music have been forced to share space due to the number of available classroom spaces as enrollment has increased. This creates challenges for setup and break down of materials between teachers. Large chunks of prep time is devoted to switching spaces rather than towards lesson planning for students.
The shared spaces at Blue Point and Pleasant Hill maximize the use of the rooms, but limit the ability to have a special event or gathering space large enough for a grade level to meet without interrupting the schedule for other grade levels. At times, this means that specialist teachers cannot use their spaces (reverting to “art on a cart” model, for example) whenever a guest speaker or special event is planned. Still, this solution only accommodates one class at a time rather than a whole grade level simultaneously. Whole school assemblies are very limited for time due to space and scheduling constraints.
According to the 2023 enrollment study, K-8 enrollment is projected to increase 18-22% over the next 10 years. Which means we must act now. The multiple struggles and programming deficiencies our schools face and programming deficiencies won’t go away. They’ll only get worse.
In 2027, approximately 64 new kindergarteners are expected to enter the school system. If the new unified school isn’t online by that time, we will run out of room in the current configuration of portables, which means we will need to find a site for a future set of portables since no room remains to add more on the existing sites.
These continued triage and temporary solutions waste taxpayer money and leave our children in limbo. But unfortunately, if the K-8 strategic project and unified primary school isn’t put on the ballot in November and moved forward by voters, we will immediately need to move forward on temporary solutions to accommodate all students come school year 2027.
This isn’t fair for our community or the students who trust us with their futures.
Now is the time to learn more about the unified school project and get involved in building the future for Scarborough students and community. Earlier this month, The Building Steering Committee and School Board voted to recommend the Town Council put the project on the November referendum Election ballot. Town Council will make their final decision on August 16th.
Your voice matters in moving the project forward and helping us build the best for our students today and for decades to come. Learn more and how you can get involved at ScarboroughSchoolSolution.org
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