View mixed on blending grade levels (03/22/06)

There were plenty of questions from parents Monday about a possible blended grade level class next year at General Shanks Elementary School, but few definitive answers.

And those parents are not likely to have answers from the Jay School Board before the end of the school year in June.

The discussion arose at Monday’s board meeting after a routine meeting between superintendent of Jay schools Barbara Downing and General Shanks principal Michael Eads.

Downing said in an interview Tuesday she meets with each principal every February to discuss projected enrollment, retention and inter-school transfers — and the impact it will have on staffing the following school year.

Downing said Eads and other principals voiced a need for additional teachers. Unfortunately, Downing said this is a common request which can’t often be accommodated.

“When they come in and have similar student enrollment (to previous years) and they want one more teacher and you have several elementaries in the same position and you know you can’t go in that direction staffing-wise, that’s when you start looking at other options,” she said.

“There is one proposal (other than a blended class) from the principal that is being very seriously considered and seems very viable,” said Downing, though she declined to offer any details.

Blended classrooms are nothing new to Jay County and have been utilized at Redkey, Pennville, Judge Haynes and Westlawn elementary schools — either because class sizes are too big or too small.

For instance, Pennville currently has only twelve students each enrolled in fourth and fifth grades.

“If we had all the money in the world, we would have a teacher for twelve kids,” Downing said. “We don’t.”

As a result, fourth and fifth grade are combined and taught by one teacher.

“Classes are blended in the district as a cost-cutting measure,” said Downing.

She went on to say that while the pros and cons of blended classes are constantly being discussed within the district, the district would not be able to survive fiscally without them.

Most parental complaints center around the undue stress put on teachers to cater to the needs of two grade levels and the fear that students do not have enough time to have their questions adequately addressed.

“How can a teacher be expected to prepare and teach two grade levels?” asked Kristen Schoenlein, mother of a first-grader at General Shanks.

Several parents asked why additional teachers can’t be hired since the corporation has experienced a sizable budget surplus for the last three years.

“Why did we have four blended classes in the same year we finished $402,000 in the black?” Schoenlein asked Monday.

Board member Bryan Alexander said that while he does not like blended classes and would like to consider other options, it is important to remember that a budget is a “moving target,” and that a possibility always remains that unforeseen expenses can strain a budget and spending a surplus could be unwise.

“I understand why we did that four or five years ago,” said community member Jack Houck, referring to the implementation of blended classes when the school corporation was in debt.

Houck, whose wife Dora is a teacher at General Shanks, said he fears that memories of past debt may make board members reluctant to allocate funds for new projects.

“I think there are avenues out there we can explore if we just dig a little deeper,” he said.

Holly Hearst, mother of a fourth-grader at Redkey Elementary, has a significantly more positive view of blended classes, saying that her daughter’s grades have actually improved since she was put in the blended classroom.

Hearst said that students have time to review information and while the teacher is instructing the other grade level and then ask questions. She also said that her daughter’s teacher puts them in study groups, which allows younger students to seek help from older students.

“I was also very skeptical, but it has turned out to be very good in the long run,” she said.

Downing echoed that sentiment, saying that she has received phone calls from parents “strongly” requesting that their child be placed in a blended classroom situation.

“There are parents who desire to have their children in blended classes,” she said.

Downing said that the method for selecting children for the class and whether or not parents may request their child’s placement is left to the discretion of the school principal.

Houck said that the relative success of some students may be because of outstanding teachers, but not because it is the ideal situation for students.

Downing said that in this case, staffing decisions are made between the superintendent and school principals, but she welcomes input from the board.

Board members received student enrollment projection numbers for all Jay schools on Monday and will likely have a recommendation pending further review of the information.

“There is not going to be a solution everyone likes,” said board president Doug Inman. “The board will present a solution this year.”[[In-content Ad]]