Thursday, June 17, 2010

End of the "Smitherdale" Era

And then there were four -- the "Smitherdale" crew has winnowed to just Betsy, Dale, Dennis, and myself.

The Riverdale Giving Tree leaves are going fast, and it is soon to be installed in the main entry area (second floor) of the new building! There are only 94 leaves remaining for sale -- they can be purchased at Riverdale High School or from Barbara Cohen by June 30th.

Report cards
are being mailed Friday and Monday. Winners of awards and promoted 8th graders will find their certificates amongst the report cards.

Look for an update from the PTC regarding next year's exciting new lunch program.

Class lists will be posted late next week, likely Thursday, down street-side on Breyman. As usual, we will have two sections of each grade level (exceptions are three at 8th next year, and one kinder am session + the extended option).

There are a number of dates to pencil in.
  • Construction site tours are in development. The first, for children and parents, will be at 9:00 on Saturday June 26th.
  • Also look forward to another kid-focused opportunity and a Bremik-hosted barbecue in late July.
  • September 6th (the afternoon before school begins) will be a "sneak preview" of the new building.
  • A community ping-pong tournament will be the weekend of September 19th.
  • The Grand Opening is slated for October 6th.
There are a few staffing changes to announce. A budget-driven reduction-in-force (RIF) triggers these changes:
  • Elimination of the 3-6 Spanish "special" program
  • Ms. Brounstein will teach the kindergarten class (Mrs. Lamb will continue to teach the extended day portion of the day, as well as our community schools pre-school.
  • Mrs. Sager will teach second grade.

Last Friday night -- after the last day of school -- the School Board considered the RIF recommendation presented by the administration after the approval of next year's budget, which called for a reduction. The meeting was well-attended, and a number of parents spoke very eloquently about their difficulty in understanding the effects of the reduction. I think it is important to take a moment to describe in short detail the thinking behind the staffing changes listed above. Primarily, our school identity is founded on two major tenets, each of which rightly drives decision making in difficult economic conditions.
  • Class size is critically important to the success of our program to date, and will be a catalyst for continued growth and improvement. It allows for individualized attention and fosters the development of relationships between teacher-and-student, and between teacher-and-family. We grow class size intentionally as students get older, and as the importance of academic and social peers increases. We believe it is incumbent upon us that we protect class size, especially at the primary level. (One option for dealing with a reduction, for instance, is to hold a single section where class size is otherwise especially small.We rejected this idea as it represents short-term thinking, and impinges our potential for intentional and appropriate growth.)
  • Integrated Arts Curriculum -- we have what almost no public school is able to offer students at the k-8 level, a fully integrated arts curriculum. And, while it is impossible to entirely separate whether we are successful as a result of this arrangement, or whether we are fortunate to be able to offer it as a result of our successes, we believe it would be a mistake to begin carving into our most developed arts and support programs even when other districts do so. We determined that the 3-6 Spanish special was the least critical of these programs and made the difficult decision to cut it in lieu of other support programs or much larger class size.
The RIF conundrum was excruciatingly difficult, and I appreciate that our recommendations to the Board left some feeling unheard. Ultimately, I ask that you continue to place your trust in our school. We certainly have a lot of growth to do, and I am ready for the challenges inherent in that process.

Anyone who has had the pleasure to walk the grounds of the new building is bound to understand we will be moving into a world-class facility. Our challenge is to ensure that our program fits that bill as well. I am invigorated by the prospect of the work we have ahead of us -- teaching our children not only to be deep and critical thinkers, but also to be contributing citizens, and, most important of all, good and kind people.

On behalf of your faculty, I wish you all a restorative, adventure-filled summer.