School board wrap-up: Influx of English Language Learners, nine-period school day forum and budget presentation

Return to nine-period school day?

Should the high school return to a nine-period school day, rather than the current eight-period schedule?

A forum discussing this issue will be held March 12 at the high school’s parent-teacher-student organization meeting, after dozens of students and parents turned out for the previous school board meeting advocating for a nine-period schedule.

Parents are encouraged to come to the meeting and participate in the community discussion, Carney said.

“I feel very strongly that this decision was wrong,” said parent John Deschamps at the meeting last night. “I really hope you reconsider it and go back to nine periods.”

“My daughter is one of those students who doesn’t have a lunch because she opted for NJROTC instead,” said parent Gail Brunner.

“Our goal is to provide as much as we can to all of our students,” said Carney. “And we want to be sure what we do is right for all students as well.”

Carney says she and assistant superintendent David Wicks have been reviewing student schedules to see what courses they are taking to replace their lunches, as well as the courses that they might want to take that they don’t currently have room for .

She also pointed out that only 10 percent of kids don’t have a lunch right now under the eight-period schedule — and that there were still 10 percent of kids without a lunch during the nine-period school days as well.

“We’ve had discussions with a number of teachers with experience as educators,” she said. “Less is more sometimes, and more in-depth. Rather than just being on a treadmill and going and going, teachers really appreciate the extra minutes in a class.

“If it were up to me, classes would be 60 minutes,” she added.

English Language Learners

Effective in September 2015, New York State’s updated English Language Learners regulations will require districts to meet new standards for educating students whose native language is not English, explained Liz Scaduto, Director of World Languages, ESL and Bilingual Education.

“This is the most significant revision in about 30 years,” Scaduto said.

The new regulations will require classes with co-teachers or a bi-lingual classroom setting so that all students may fully participate in classes. With the growing numbers of students in the Riverhead Central School District who require ELL services – currently more than 1,000 students – this will mean that many of the district’s current teachers will be pursuing dual certification as well as hiring additional teachers with bilingual (Spanish) extensions.

There have been 126 new ELL students at the high school this year, not including a handful – “a big handful” – of ELL students who left the district but returned again this year.

“Most of the new entrants that we’re seeing at any grade level are beginner-level students,” Scaduto said. “So,the services that we need to provide are more significant than if they were completely proficient.”

Professional development requirements will also be updated to reflect the state’s growing needs to meet ELL requirements. Fifteen percent of all professional development for all teachers must be related to working with English learners, and 50 percent of all professional development for staff working with ELL students must be specific to English learners.

The new regulations will also impact how the students’ proficiency is classified as well as the enrollment process for new ELL students. The state is also pursuing graduation options for English Learners.

In the interim, high school students who have no credits from their home country will have an opportunity to attend a new half-day program in conjunction with BOCES. This program will offer job training and additional training in English language arts and math, with the expectation that this will allow ELL students to be more successful in high school.

The program is expected to begin within the next couple of weeks, Wicks said.

When asked if there will be any state aid to cover the expense of the new regulations on the district, Carney said, “We have been very clear with the state on what we need. We’ve been promised some additional aid, we have provided date but we haven’t received anything yet, nor have they figured how the aid would be allocated.”

Budget Presentation

Carney presented the district’s second budget presentation, with a large focus on maintenance. “We need to maintain the facilities and, with all the construction that is going on, not let things fall into disrepair,” Carney said. “That includes our transportation department – making sure that we’re replenishing our school buses.

“Just as you do with your home, we have to make sure we do our renovations and our purchasing when it needs to be done so that we don’t end up in a position where things are falling apart and need to be tended to again,” she said.

At present, the district still hasn’t received the state aid runs, which means the district has to create three different budget scenarios: no state aid (which happens if the governor’s budget is not approved), Cuomo’s suggested 1.7 percent state aid increase, and Questar III BOCES figures, which are assembled from a variety of sources and suggest the possibility of a 5.35 percent increase in state aid.

To meet ongoing needs in transportation, security and facilities, the district anticipates the need to hire additional staff. Carney pointed out that the district has been able to find ways to save money as well. “Our service contracts is one areas that’s been going down,” she said. “One of the things we’ve been focusing on as we hire new staff members is that we’re hiring people that have expertise – whether it’s electrical, landscaping, different carpentry, mechanics – so that we don’t have to have people from outside come in as often.”

The future budget presentations will take place as follows:

• March 10 – Regular Day School Budget, Special Education, PPS, Guidance and Other Instructional Items
• March 24 – Revenues and Projected Tax Levy
• April 14 – BOE Adoption of Proposed Budget
• May 12 – Public Hearing on Proposed Budget
• May 19 – Budget Vote (6 a.m. – 9 p.m. at local polling locations)

The power point presentations shown at Board of Education meetings are available on the district’s website the day after each presentation, Carney said.