2005-03-30 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dr. Brown said he understands that there is agreement that if a student enters kindergarten or first grade with a big gap in knowledge it is hard to catch up. He said this indicates that we should do all we can at the pre-school level. Dr. Brown asked if the budget addresses the pre-school issue and benefits children who are not now benefiting but who should. He also asked about the thinking of the merits of having the pre-school be part of elementary schools versus having a single pre-school site. Ms. Smith said the current budget has a major impact on pre-schools by increasing the family worker and increasing the number of classes from eight to nine. She said it is felt that we are serving the children who most need it. She said the question is whether we should go to a pre-school for children younger than four years old. She said the Board has not discussed the merits of pre-school as part of elementary schools versus a centralized location as it is felt it is too early to determine that. Ms. Muriel Wiggins, School Board member, said that research shows that the earlier you get to children the better. She said she thinks a centralized pre-school is better. She said she does not think three years old is too early for pre-school, but said this would require far more funds than we have now. Regarding salaries, she said she thinks it is dangerous to set ourselves up to compete with other localities. She said the School Board juggled funds as far as they could for salaries. She noted that with the increase in benefits the City Schools are not that far behind She said the morale problem should not be put at the feet of the School Board, Superintendent and principals, and noted that this situation did not begin just four months ago. She said the protagonists in the community have been unrelenting and she feels the community has to take some responsibility. Mr. Caravati said we need to approach the issue in a collaborative and communicative way. Ms. Hamilton said that things she is interested in seeing in the budget are not accounted for. She said she understands there are State mandates. She said she would like to see a three-year old pre-school combined with an after school program. She said she has not yet figured out where she falls regarding salaries. She said Council could consider an approach to help the schools out and combine this with the goals on affordable housing to make it easier for teachers to buy a first home in the City. Ms. Smith said that the pre-school is a major topic of discussion and the after school program has also gotten a lot of attention. She said that a grants writer was included in the budget because there are a lot of after school program grants available. Dr. Brown said he believes positive things are going on in the after school programs. Dr. Purnell said that almost 500 students are being served in the after school programs. Ms. Smith said that these issues should be included in the strategic plan. Dr. Griffin said that it was determined that there are not enough children for an Evan Start program, and it is felt that all children who would qualify are served by HeadStart. She said the quality of the pre-school program is being looked at. Mr. Lynch asked when the school improvement plans will be finished. Mr. Miles said they have 60 business days to revise them and have the School Board adopt them. Mr. Lynch said he would like to see the Board start with the high school where 50 students drop out every year, and he would like to know what can be done to cut that number in half. He said the pre-school is important but not all children start there and go through to high school. He asked how many children start in pre-school and go all the way through. He said we should have a higher expectation for these children and asked if that information is available. He said remediation/intervention programs should be