School reconfiguration talks continue

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Superintendent of Schools Jerry Scarborough, center, and school board member Julie Ulmer listen to board attorney Leonard Dietzan III speak on school reconfiguration. - Photo: Bryant Thigpen

Discussion

January 9, 2013

School reconfiguration talks continue

Town hall meetings will be held for public to voice their thoughts

Bryant Thigpen Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Wed Jan 09, 2013, 10:38 AM EST

Live Oak — The Suwannee County School Board held a workshop on Tuesday to elaborate on the possibility of reconfiguring the three elementary schools in Live Oak.

While talks at the district level continue, Superintendent of Schools Jerry Scarborough will be holding three town hall meetings this month at each of the elementary schools that are being discussed for reconfiguration. The meetings will be an avenue for the public to voice their thoughts on the matter.

The schools are Suwannee Primary School, which currently offers Pre-K through first grade; Suwannee Elementary School, grades 2-3; and Suwannee Intermediate School, grades 4-5.

If approved, the schools would be transformed into three distinct elementary schools that would all offer Pre-K through fifth grade. The meetings will be held at SPS on Jan. 24, SES on Jan. 31 and SIS on Feb. 7. Each meeting will be from 6:30-8 p.m.

Director of Curriculum Dawn Lamb shared with the board during Tuesday’s workshop the reasons she believes reconfiguring is important to develop a stronger school system.

Building relationships

Lamb said first and foremost, reconfiguration is vital in giving teachers and staff the opportunity to develop relationships with parents and students.

“The students will have the security of knowing the staff from one year to the next,” Lamb said. “The staff can get to know each student and his or her needs and gifts.”

Lamb noted that a student who begins in kindergarten under the current system would change schools five times before they graduate high school.

 “They never have a chance to build a relationship before they’re moved to another school,” said Lamb.

Lamb told the board that reconfiguring the schools would also lessen the grade level teams for better communication.

Increase communication

Melissa Moseley, principal at SES, told the audience that reconfiguring would help teachers to communicate to better help the students.

“Right now if we were to meet, it would take a large group of 40 plus people for teachers to communicate vertically and horizontally,” said Moseley. “But if we reconfigured and the students remain at the same school, a 15 minute meeting after school would be all that’s needed.”

Smaller grade level teams would also help the school to be more vertical and horizontal in curriculum development, it was reported.

Accountability

According to Lamb, reconfiguring would hold a single team accountable to students achievement measures over time. The staff would have the chance to focus on an individual student’s progress for a long period of time, rather than just two years before being transferred to another school.

Lamb expressed to the board that if it is their wishes to reconfigure, the time is now.

 “Teacher performance pay begins in 2014-15, and if we reconfigured now, it would give us a year under the new system before performance pay begins,” Lamb said.

The staff is currently working diligently to ensure that students are evenly distributed among the three schools. However, students with autism or medically needy attend Suwannee Primary School.  

According to the proposed zoning map, the county is divided into three zones. Had reconfiguration taken place this year with the current number of students in the school system, 871 students would attend SPS, 624 students would be attend SIS and 702 students would attend SES.