Sixth-grade move, Hope Highlands conversion get committee’s backing

All-day K, middle school transition eyed for start of next school year; officials say votes meant to provide direction as planning continues

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 11/12/15

Plans to institute all-day kindergarten across the city, move the sixth grade back to the middle school level, and convert Hope Highlands Elementary School into a fourth middle school have been formally set in motion.

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Sixth-grade move, Hope Highlands conversion get committee’s backing

All-day K, middle school transition eyed for start of next school year; officials say votes meant to provide direction as planning continues

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Plans to institute all-day kindergarten across the city, move the sixth grade back to the middle school level, and convert Hope Highlands Elementary School into a fourth middle school have been formally set in motion.

“It does not bind us into following a path that we are locked into … but it does allow the administration to look forward, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” School Committee Chair Janice Ruggieri said before Monday’s votes in favor of a pair of resolutions tied to the proposals.

The changes – which, if all goes as intended, will be effective for the 2016-17 school year – have been precipitated by several factors, according to school officials.

Foremost among them is all-day kindergarten. The city is currently piloting the program in four classrooms across three schools, and the General Assembly in the current year’s budget approved a requirement that all-day kindergarten be fully in place across the state by August 2016.

Cranston has been one of a handful of communities without the program. One of Monday’s resolutions was in support of establishing all-day kindergarten for the coming school year.

The expansion of kindergarten, officials have said, will exacerbate existing space constraints at the city’s elementary schools. Further complicating the situation are the special requirements associated with kindergarten classrooms, limiting which rooms can be used.

Facing that space crunch – and wanting to return the sixth grade to the middle school level, where it had been for several years before being moved to the elementary schools as the district faced financial straits in 2008 – the district turned its focus to the transition plan.

“The logical thing to do was move the sixth-graders out of the elementary schools,” Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse said.

The superintendent and others have spoken of the advantages of the “teaming” approach utilized at the middle school level, and of the benefits students would reap from an additional year at that level before high school.

“That sixth-grade year really is a good transition year for children in the middle school … [it] helps them achieve more success in seventh and eighth grade,” Nota-Masse said. “That transition year, we really need that for our kids.”

Based on those considerations, a Sixth Grade Transition Committee with approximately 20 members – including administrators, teachers, and parents – was established to explore available options.

Ultimately, due to the high projected student population at Western Hills Middle School – which officials have said would exceed the building’s capacity – the recommendation was made to convert Hope Highlands into a fourth middle school starting next year. Support for that course of action was outlined in the second resolution approved Monday.

Nota-Masse said officials are deeply reluctant to use portable classrooms due to concerns over cost and safety, and that Hope Highlands is “perfectly designed to become a middle school.” Orchard Farms Elementary School, meanwhile, has the capacity to house the Hope Highlands student population.

Prior to the votes, school committee members spoke in support of the plan while acknowledging hurdles – including costs – remain. The changes will impact virtually every aspect of district operations, from busing to staffing.

Several members echoed Ruggieri in saying the resolutions are meant to provide direction and get the process started, and that changes – and alternatives – may still be considered.

“I’m in favor of this for the simple reason that it’s giving the administration and sixth grade committee a place where they can start and build their plans from,” said Domenic Fusco, who represents Ward 3 on the committee. “There’s still a lot of questions that I have … but in order to get those answers, we have to start somewhere, and this is where we have to start.”

“All-day K is coming. It’s Rhode Island state law … I think it’s important that we have a good plan in place as a district,” said Dan Wall, who represents Ward 6. “I believe in the final analysis, this plan, while not perfect, represents a significant and important step.”

Citywide representative Michael Traficante said a significant part of the process would involve scouring the district’s budget to find savings in other areas.

“We’ve got to scrutinize every single line item to see where we can make cuts and live with it,” he said.

Traficante also praised the work of Nota-Masse and the transition committee, saying they were “extremely thorough” and “detailed in their research.”

“You name it, they thought about it, and then they researched it,” he said, adding that he feels “very comfortable, very reassured that this can work.”

Ward 4 representative Trent Colford said he agrees with the establishment of all-day kindergarten and the grouping of the sixth, seventh and eighth grades at the middle school level, but did add that the fiscal implications must be carefully considered.

“The financial piece has got to be weighed out very carefully,” he said.

Ruggieri said the transition committee “really did look at a lot of options,” including “kindergarten hub” schools and the construction of an addition at Western Hills. Both of those proved impractical in terms of cost and time.

“We are going to try to do the best that we can for everyone, and we believe that’s what we’ve done with this plan,” she said.

Ruggieri said as the process plays out, officials would continue to review the situation and work to have alternative plans in place if needed.

“We’re hopeful … I think it would behoove us to have an alternative, or two alternatives, or three alternatives, in our back pocket,” she said.

The chair also spoke to the budgetary concerns.

“We have just come out of a very long period of debt, and nobody wants to ever go back to that … We are going to be looking at the budgetary aspects of this very closely,” she said. “We are not willing to put this district into a position ever again that it was put into several years ago.”

Nota-Masse said figures are being compiled, and the coming year’s budget plan will be presented in the coming weeks.

“We’re on top of all of it, but I don’t have a price tag yet,” the superintendent said.

Ruggieri and Nota-Masse also said school officials have reached out to the mayor’s office and City Council regarding the district’s plans.

Nota-Masse reprised a personal defense of the plan made during the initial presentation of the transition plan last month. She noted that her son, currently a fifth-grader, would be impacted, as he is currently on course to attend Western Hills but would end up attending the new Hope Highlands Middle School.

“What isn’t lost on me is the parent part, because my son is part of this … I have to hear it at home, too,” she said. “This is weighing extremely heavily on me … I know it’s going to be difficult.”

The committee last week hosted a pair of forums – one at Cranston High School East, and the other at Hope Highlands – to allow for public comment and discussion on the transition plan.

While turnout was very light for both sessions, and several spoke in support of the plan, some concerns were raised.

Scott and Jessica McNeil, parents of a Hope Highlands student, spoke of their worries over that school’s community being “displaced.”

“Please remember when you vote that there are many young and impressionable minds that this is affecting the most,” Jessica McNeil said.

Kerri Kelleher questioned whether many parents were aware of the proposed changes. Given the scope of the plan and the financial considerations involved, she urged caution.

“The last thing I want to see is for this to come down to dollars and cents,” she said.

Stephanie Culhane, who represents Ward 2 on the school committee, defended the district’s efforts to inform parents.

“We’ve been looking at this for a long time … We were in no way trying to undermine people, trying to keep people out of the loop,” she said. “We have made sure that we have gotten the word out … I am in full support of this.”

Jeff Gale, who represents Ward 1, issued a “plea” for parents and others in the community to attend meetings and be involved as the budget process for the coming year plays out in the months ahead.

“We need your support,” he said. “If you want more support for the schools, the city council and the mayor need to hear from you.”

Another issue to arise has been the status of some families who would see their student’s educational path significantly altered by the transition plan.

Under the plan, Western Hills and Hope Highlands students would go on to attend Cranston High School West, while Bain and Park View middle school students would attend Cranston East.

Additionally, all students from Peters and Woodridge elementary would be slated to attend Western Hills. Currently, the students split between Bain and Western Hills.

In some cases, parents would see their younger children end up at Bain and East, while older siblings have gone on to West. Some families have also questioned sending their children to Western Hills when they live in closer proximity to Bain.

Nota-Masse said the sibling issue would impact roughly 30 families, and she has recommended allowing those students to attend the same school as their brother or sister.

“We’re trying to be sensitive to families,” she said.

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