Schools

Residents: Magnet School Idea Happened Quickly, and Could Hurt Tight-Knit Community

Residents speak out against a proposed ESL program at Bradley Gardens.

Communication was key Tuesday as parents of students at spoke out about a proposed , saying that they were concerned about the lack of information presented to them before the proposal initially came before the Board of Education May 17.

“My key concern about this is the communication process, and I think we need to work on that going forward,” said Donna Vadinsky, of Bradley Lane. “I think you’re seeing that parents of ESL students and Bradley Gardens parents do not feel they were communicated to and now they have no choice about this. This is going on, and there’s a feeling of this happening very quickly.”

The proposal, which could be implemented in September if approved early enough, would group all English Language Learners [ELL] at Bradley Gardens Primary for kindergarten through fourth grade, and at for fifth and sixth grades.

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The recommendation is to create a magnet program to service the estimated 112 students needing the services in kindergarten through fourth grades, and 12 students in fifth and sixth grades.

The change would allow for the creation of cluster classrooms and sheltered instruction observation protocol [SIOP].

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SIOP classes are those with 22 students who are all ELL language learners together with a grade level teacher and ESL teacher all day. Cluster classes are the ones currently used in the district, with ELL students spread out in the grade level classes—in those classrooms, there is a grade level teacher, as well as an ESL teacher.

At least 50 parents attended Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the proposal, and expressed their concerns about how the addition of about 100 students at Bradley Gardens would affect the students who are already there, and the changes that would inevitably come to the close-knit community at the school.

“I love Bradley Gardens, and I love the school, it is a true neighborhood school,” Bradley Gardens PTO co-president Felicia Walsh said. “We are a tight-knit community, and we would like to keep it that way if possible.”

And Walsh said she doesn’t know how a multipurpose room in the school—used as a gym, auditorium and cafeteria—will handle 100 more kids, particularly as students already have to wait on long lines for their lunches and often don’t have time to eat.

“We are the smallest school by enrollment and size,” she said. “But a 30 percent increase on any number is a big number.”

Bridgewater resident Renee Fischer said she has a third-grader at the school and is concerned about adding more buses to the mix each morning.

“I have to drop my kids off and it’s crazy in the morning with not a lot of room for buses and cars,” she said. “We’re a close-knit community, but now you’re throwing in 100 kids with parents who won’t be as involved in the school community because they will be so far away.”

“I don’t think this model is in the best interest because of all the moving around,” she added.

As for the issue of communication, Walsh said she felt blindsided by the sudden proposal.

“I was surprised at how this was made known, but communication is key,” she said.

Board member Jeffrey Brookner said he believes the root of the problem is a lack of communication, particularly for getting the word out about something as important to the district as the ESL magnet program. He said PTOs should always have a representative at board meetings to hear about any projects that might be affecting individual schools.

“If PTOs were here at every meeting representing schools, they could bring feedback to parents,” he said. “If they’re not here, and they don’t know about something, what more can we do?”

“But the reaction we’re getting is because Bradley Gardens was chosen,” he added. “There’s been none of this commentary until the location is chosen. That’s where the space is available, and we feel strongly that every effort needs to be made to make sure the program is done right.”

Residents objected to Brookner’s statements, but he said he believes residents should always be at board meetings to hear about the issues at hand.

“I wish this community took not the issues seriously, but the school board seriously,” he said. “Every time we have meetings, there are important issues to be done.”

Still, to account for the fact that many people said they were unaware of the proposal until only recently, Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder said they have changed the proposed dates for the plan to provide more chances for comment. First, he said, the board opted to postpone the vote on the proposal to June 14.

From there, Schilder said, they moved the dates of the information sessions to June 8 for parents of ELL students and June 9 for parents of Bradley Gardens students.

But parents also questioned how the additional of the ELL students would affect the students who are not in the ESL program.

“We keep hearing about the disruption and anytime there is that, I don’t know how it can result in any type of achievement,” Flanders Way resident Vincenzo Cirianni said. “We are going to disrupt the ELL students, but there is no mention of the disruption to the students who are already in Bradley Gardens. With these disruptions, is there a game plan if this doesn’t work?”

As for student performance, Cheryl Dyer, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the district has looked at test scores for students in cluster classrooms and those who are not, and the scores are all about the same.

Adamsville teacher Becky Francisco was the only member of the audience to speak in favor of the program, saying she was interested in volunteering to be one of the teachers to move.

“I believe the program being proposed is the best for the ELL children,” she said. “I felt I needed to come up because I didn’t hear a voice for those children and that does get to me. I want you to remember that not all parents are represented here today.”

As part of the presentation concerning the program, Schilder said he had put together a document concerning frequently asked questions, based on comments he has received from residents since it was proposed May 17. Questions asked, he said, have included the purpose of the proposal and any drawbacks.

“The sole purpose is student achievement, to increase the student achievement of English Language Learners without increasing staff members,” he said.

“And I see the drawbacks in terms of disruptions,” he added. “There’s a disruption to ELL students, they are moved out of their schools and parents have to become acclimated to a new school.”

The key, Schilder said, is to determine whether the disruption is worth it.

“We feel it is,” he said. “In terms of the process, we know people are upset about the timing and why we unveiled it so suddenly, but from our perspective, it wasn’t sudden.”

Dyer said the district has also looked at other options, namely two- and three-site locations, but both would require increased staff to give the appropriate level of services to increase test scores.

“We looked at a three-site location that would be determined by proximity,” she said. “The three locations in this idea would be John F. Kennedy Primary, and .”

These ideas would still require some students to be moved, Dyer said, but more teachers would be needed and not as many SIOP classes would be offered because students would be more spread out.

Brookner said he would actually support extra budgetary money for more teachers if that meant more instruction and less disruption for students.

“If hiring one extra teacher means one extra hour of push-in instruction per day, and if that would make it even better, I personally would support the extra budgetary money,” he said. “If doing it right for education means one more teacher, we should do it right. I would encourage the administration not to obsess with cost neutrality.”

Brookner said he was also concerned about the impact on non-ELL students in cluster classrooms.

“My concern is is the teacher going to spend a disproportionate amount of time with ELL students rather than those in the top group or so?” he asked. “A sharp pencil needs to be brought to the staffing question to make the maximum positive impact.”

Dyer said that in the cluster classrooms, there is always a lot of small group instruction so a grade level teacher can be working with one group, while the ESL teacher is working with the ELL students.

“Plus there’s kids doing independent work at the same time, and it would not put undue burden on the grade level elementary teacher in the room,” she said.

For more information about the proposal, visit the school’s website.


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