Posts Tagged ‘excess capacity’

Our Response to the Proposal to Close Peebles Elementary

Posted: October 1, 2012 in Community Information
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The recent proposal to close Peebles Elementary school raises concerns due to:
1) The mathematically inaccurate conclusions and questionable projections included in the Phase 2 Demographics & Feasibility Study.
2) The ability of the remaining 6 elementary schools to provide adequate capacity for all elementary school students without an increase in class size.
3) The lack of financial data related to both the cost savings from closing a school and the future costs that would need to be incurred with respect to repairs and renovations at the remaining 6 elementary school buildings.

We do not believe that closing an elementary school is the solution to the district’s budgeting problems.  We believe more time and resources are needed to explore all viable long-term solutions. We have petitioned for a community task force that would involve the entire district in helping brainstorm proposals that will keep North Allegheny the school district of choice based on its excellence in education.

Please help support us in this endeavor by signing the petition for a community task force, attending monthly school board meetings to stay informed, and getting your friends and neighbors to join our Facebook page.

Message for the NA Community

Posted: September 17, 2012 in The Impact
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MESSAGE FOR THE NA COMMUNITY:

The proposal to close Peebles Elementary is about a new model for elementary education across the district that will increase class sizes in EVERY elementary school. It is a district-wide issue and we need to gain district-wide support.

More specifically, closing Peebles is part of a plan to maximize utilization of the elementary buildings by increasing class sizes. Out of the 145 elementary sections, 7 are currently above 30. The board can redistrict to correct this problem and create equity across the schools. Closing Peebles will allow them to increase class sizes in EVERY elementary school to their new “target capacity” after the redistricting.

This is about 30 students becoming the norm for grades 3-5 instead of the exception. The exception (7 out of 145 sections) is fixed by redistricting. Closing one of the seven elementary schools means going to a new model of 30 students in all intermediate grades (3rd-5th) across the district.

We need to argue that larger class sizes make it more difficult for teachers to effectively teach curriculum and gives them less time with each student. This is extremely detrimental at the elementary school level where kids are just being introduced to the educational model and structure. In addition, adding just one or two kids to a classroom can greatly increase the classroom complexity for the teacher given each kid has a different ability to learn, different social/emotional background, and different set of needs.

We need to ADVOCATE REDISTRICTING to create more equity across all elementary schools and better utilization of “excess capacity” in some buildings, but to LEAVE PEEBLES OPEN so that class sizes don’t swell beyond a reasonable level after the redistricting.

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