Questions and Answers on the Vision Team Forum – Newton Daily News

Editor’s note: This is the second of two posts on the PCM Elementary Vision team’s public forums held January 24-25. The second part deals with questions from the public and comments from the forums.

Following the Vision team’s presentations on January 24 and 25, questions were posed to the team and administration about the information presented. People were also able to submit questions to the team with the questions and answers, as distributed, shown here:

Presenters keep saying that we share specific resources like music or that we have two resources in one school and only one in the other. What is the reason for sharing or why do we have unequal resources? Limited funding? Does the number of students in the school determine funding allocations?

Funding is the reason we ‘share’ staff such as PE, Music etc. Our struggling readers receive Title One Reading daily, but we currently have an equal staff (one in each building) even though Monroe Elementary has more needs.

If the plan is to pilot this plan next year with 4th/5th graders, won’t the other grades be moved? Or will the 4th be in one and the 5th in the other?

Although many staff members wish we could all be placed in one building, our team thinks it would be best to start our plan with the two 4th and 5th graders moving to Prairie City Elementary.

Is there so much open space at PCE that would allow for this move or will there be other changes needed to accommodate in terms of space? (4th/5th)

There is enough space. We have a map of all classrooms and where people should go.

How do you plan to address all concerns without being in one building?

We plan to address them over time. There are concerns whichever option we choose, so we just have to be prepared to plan accordingly.

Would there be some kind of transportation between schools?

All students would be transported by the school.

What is the planned location?

The goal of the first stage of our plan for (4th-5th) to attend Prairie City Elementary next year, is due to space. Monroe Elementary does not have additional classrooms. Our long-term goal would be to have all elementary students in one city with the possibility of having an early childhood center in the other city.

What is the deadline?

We are unsure of the timing due to funding and space. We are taking small steps towards our end goal.

What is the plan for the unused site?

There will never be an “unused” site. All current buildings will house students and staff, they will just differ by age/class.

Will there be a link?

We are currently working on a long term plan for the PCM district. This plan will meet the construction and long-term needs of our district. The current proposal does not depend on a bond referendum. But please note: there are many in the community pushing for a new gymnasium to be built – if this were to appear in the long term plan, the district would need a plan to pay for this improvement of facilities.

Grants available?

Dr. Havenstrite and the administrative team are always looking for grants. Over the past year, we have received at least three grants that have helped us improve. We recently received a $10,000 BELIEF grant from DE (one of 15 districts in the state).

I don’t understand how being together will bring in more volunteers or subteachers/paras. How will funds be saved?

Currently, each building tries to cover its own staff. When we are in the same place, we will be able to move around and be more agile and responsive to needs. Regarding volunteers – currently we have one school with limited volunteers and one with many. If we were in one building, our volunteers would be available for all PCM Elementary classes.

How would the vision plan help? ex. operating skills

The vision plan would give our teachers much more time to collaborate and learn. During this time, we can ensure that all teachers receive adequate support and that all students receive equitable services.

How are we going to fund kindergarten all day?

We plan to charge a monthly tuition fee for the afternoon. This tuition fee will be a very nominal fee used to cover additional expenses.

I am concerned about too many groupings and subgroups in the first cycle of elementary school.

We already group students according to their needs. The combination of resources simply makes our groups more efficient and student-centered.

I don’t see how switching to a site changes the promotions?

Then the special teachers don’t have to go to two different buildings and will actually want to stay in our district.

Please bring back the wraparound services before and after school programs that disappeared when COVID arrived. It really hurt working families.

The PCM school district has not discontinued the before and after school program. The provider has discontinued this program due to staffing shortages. We would like to provide before and after school services for our families. This is something we will continue to reach out to potential service providers.

Why is DK going to be in Monroe? Why not in both cities?

We don’t have enough children in the program to support both towns. We also don’t have any extra room in the PC for that.

Will combining schools actually increase scores and if so, is it worth the cost?

Although it is impossible to predict individual student results. We believe that providing our teachers with the opportunity to collaborate and improve their teaching pedagogy together AND maximize our student support will create a high quality teaching opportunity. The research is clear on the impact of teaching quality on student achievement (aka scores). Yes, we strongly believe that Level Alignment is worth the very minimal cost to implement.

Are we going to be able to get enough catering services to cover more students at PCE?

I don’t know how to answer that. Foodservice providers in schools and the private sector are struggling to find employees. We will continue to actively recruit and transition staff as needed to ensure the staffing needs of the Nutrition Department are met.

How can we ensure that these children do not go from bus to bus?

We use routing software designed to create manageable and efficient transport routes. PCM routes have not been redesigned for many years. This will improve routes for all students.