From Scarsdale BOE: Greenacres and the World Language Survey

The future of both Greenacres School and the World Language program were once again key topics at the School Board meeting which took place this past Monday evening.

Superintendent Dr. Hagerman alerted the community to expect his second "Facilities Update" email, which was in fact released later Monday evening. The full text of that email is re-printed below. This is one piece of the overall communication plan which has been recently developed to provide accurate information to the community regarding the status of Greenacres as well as the district-wide Facilities Plan. Additionally, Dr. Hagerman's email provides a link to a complete archive of all materials that have been generated throughout the Greenacres process.

Is this communication plan reaching throughout the community as intended? Robert McFarlane of 1247 Post Road, a 16 year resident and empty nester, had this to say on behalf of himself and his wife Carmella: "I don't know what others are experiencing...we sent one written communication to the board (on the subject of Greenacres) and received two responses of thanks for our comment, several weeks apart. So we must be in the email records. Yet we received nothing telling us where to look for further information, and no information has been sent to us. In our opinion, the communications we have received from outside the Board and many of the comments at public comment meetings have been highly prejudicial on one side or another, and at the moment we feel we have no solid or reliable information on which to really form an opinion."

Wendy Shi of 198 Brewster Road received the latest update, but points out that although the increased community outreach is welcome, the future of Greenacres School should be "a decision about what's best for children present and future" rather than which plan is the most popular. Similarly, Katharine Miao of 51 Walworth Avenue favors more decisive action: "I wish there had been more of a consensus but the board needs to make a decision one way or another."

Paulina Schwartz offered this comment on the email Dr. Hagerman sent out this week. She said, "To say that the space issues at Greenacres are minor is understating the degree of the problem. Note that the Greenacres Feasibility Study included the following five facts:

-The model program is used as a benchmark for the design options that were explored as well as a basis for comparison to other schools in the District. Perhaps the most meaningful statistic to emerge from this comparison is the amount of net usable square footage per student:

-Greenacres Existing: 78 square feet of net usable square feet per student
Average: Edgewood, Fox Meadow, Heathcote and Quaker Ridge: 105 square feet of net usable square feet per student

-Greenacres has 26% less overall useable net square footage per student than the average of the four elementary schools.

-Scarsdale's other four elementary schools have larger classrooms than exist at Greenacres in all categories.

-This highlights one the major issues with the Greenacres building - there is not adequate space for the full student program. Perhaps the most serious manifestation of this issue is the size of the core instructional classrooms themselves.

A further question is how the current decision-making process and timeline is perceived outside the Scarsdale community. Discussion around the neighborhood turns up stories of residents who know city families contemplating a Scarsdale move who have crossed Greenacres off their list due to the uncertainty surrounding the school.

However, Meredith Gantcher of 164 Brewster Road sees the current pause for assessment and communication as highly valuable to the community and its reputation: "The latest update is a meaningful attempt by the Board to fulfill Dr. Hagerman's charge that the Board of Education must codify and disseminate the information gathered over the last two years by the GA Building committees and the Board while studying the current conditions and needs of the GA School....It's clear that Dr. Hagerman and the Board are making it a priority to dispel damaging myths and rumors that have circulated in the community that have grossly exaggerated problems at Greenacres and needlessly harm the reputation of the entire district. It's clear that Dr. Hagerman is making every effort to inject objectivity and fact-based analysis into the Greenacres discussion...."

Dr. Hagerman also announced an additional element of his communication plan which is to engage survey company Unicom Arc to poll residents on their views. He said, "It's a little more expensive than we had hoped initially so we're probably going to have to pare down from three surveys to something less than that, but we look forward to getting out and engaging the community in that way."

World Language

An already completed survey formed the core of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Lynn Shain's update on World Language. Ms. Shain reported that since the survey closed on October 13 they have been evaluating the results. In something of a surprise, given the attention the issue has received of late, the survey received only a 32% response rate (856 families responding out of a potential 2,707.) In Ms. Shain's words: "Many said that they would not want to add a new language to elementary, middle, or high school programs. That is a significant piece of the pie here and we have to do some more analysis of all of this data."

Current 5th grade parents throughout Scarsdale should note the timeline for 6th grade World Language registration has been pushed back to allow further survey analysis. The first parent meeting was originally to take place on November 15. That will be rescheduled and a new timeline will be forthcoming. November 28 is set as the date when Ms. Shain will present all World Language data results to the Board.

As one of the founding members of the Mandarin in Middle School Initiative Team and Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the Scarsdale Forum, Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez offered her reaction to the survey's initial findings: "I am very grateful the Scarsdale School Administration created a language survey; it is important to get the response of the community. If the Administration is disappointed that more parents did not respond, I'm not sure that 32% should be considered a low response rate as it's above normal email survey response levels. The Administration should consider carefully how to encourage parents to answer surveys? Instead of concluding people don't want additional languages, perhaps reconsider the method of survey distribution and design. Perhaps by having the surveys distributed through class parents, for example, they would get more attention. Additionally, perhaps make it clear why the survey matters: what action is expected to be taken based on survey results."

Comments

When the Board invited comments from those present on Monday evening, Leanne Freda, PT Council President, stepped forward with warm thanks to the Board in observance of the Governor's proclaimed School Board Recognition week. Addressing those gathered, Ms. Freda noted, "They work extraordinarily long hours in service of out community to ensure that our schools remain on the cutting edge and deliver an excellent education....Throughout the many challenges facing our community they have remained calm, respectful and professional." Accompanied by applause from the room, she concluded: "On behalf of the Scarsdale PT Council, we express our sincere gratitude for your service, commitment and contribution to the students and families of Scarsdale."

Next, Dan Hochvert spoke as a Member of the Board of Friends of Scarsdale Parks, bringing positive news about the improvements made in the former Harwood Park area surrounding the brook between the high school gravel parking lot and the library. He describes its previous state as "terribly neglected...a snow and garbage dump." Yet through volunteers' efforts over the last 2 1/2 years invasive plants have been removed and 600 native plants restored to the area. As a result a mother and baby deer have been observed enjoying the habitat, and students have been observed enjoying a beautiful new pathway to the library.

Switching hats to his role as Co-Chair of the Scarsdale Forum Education Committee, Mr. Hochvert announced the completion of the Committee's draft report on Greenacres which they hope will be useful to the Board and serve to "narrow the gap between the B1's and the C1's."

(Here is the text of an email sent out by the Scarsdale Schools on Monday October 17th)

What is the current condition of the Greenacres School?
At the time that the District's successful 2014 bond was first being considered, the architectural firm KG&D conducted a feasibility study of Greenacres.

KG&D began by giving Greenacres a survey of the entire structure from foundation to roof, and determined that the building had been well-maintained. Careful maintenance has extended the "useful life" (parameters set by experts in the field) of various components of the building, such as the slate roof, windows, and mechanical systems.

Next, a checklist was reviewed of building code compliance issues and expectations, including:

Classroom square footage
Ventilation and air quality
Fire safety
Toilet facilities and plumbing
ADA accessibility (including door widths, obstructions, counter heights, etc.)
Energy efficiency

Although the overall building was determined to be sound, the review did reveal some problematic areas, particularly in light of our goal to provide a 21st century educational environment for our students. One of the issues is the small size of classrooms. Teaching approaches have changed significantly in the last 100 years; for example, classroom desks are no longer set up in rows but in clusters; extra room is needed for science and other projects and use of technology; and special needs inclusion practice requires adequate space for children and their aides.

Moreover, the building has been divided and subdivided over time to accommodate changing programmatic and student needs. Computer labs, student service offices, Maker Spaces and the like are all staples of today's education; however, these additions have resulted in a reduction in traditional classroom space.

Greenacres Feasibility Study Archives

Why weren't these conditions addressed in the 2014 bond?

The original Greenacres Building Committee was convened during the course of Districtwide planning for the December 2014 Bond Referendum. At that time, the Committee reviewed the feasibility study and concluded that the scope of work was too great to be addressed within parameters of the 2014 bond. The Committee recommended that the future of Greenacres would require further study and should be addressed in a future bond.

Is overcrowding at Greenacres an issue?
Although some classrooms are smaller than those at the other elementary schools in Scarsdale, Greenacres students are satisfactorily accommodated. There have been reports that students are forced to sit on the floor due to lack of classroom space for desks/tables and chairs; however, this is not true. It's possible that this misconception arose from individuals seeing or hearing about students sitting on the floor (usually on special rugs), which is a normal part of the school day for younger grades throughout the District. This technique has been found to help focus student attention and, in many cases, allows students to access Smartboards and other technology.

What about moisture or mold in the building?
A major challenge facing Greenacres is moisture. The dirt crawl spaces and basement underneath the building generate significant humidity, which is controlled through the constant use of dehumidifiers. Without this continuous monitoring and mitigating, this moisture could result in serious issues affecting air quality, structural integrity, and maintenance.

It should be noted that repeated testing by both District staff and outside consultants has shown that there is no significant mold problem at this time. Concerns about mold throughout the District are addressed with inspections from outside experts.

To learn more about Scarsdale's facilities, bond updates, and Greenacres information, please visit our Facilities website pages here.