Superintendent
Dr. Bolgen Vargas and school district administrators are working to carry out
the redistricting plan that was approved by the Board of School Committee this month. Various discussions and plans
around the concept of redistricting have been discussed for more than ten years
in Manchester. The proposal presented by Dr. Vargas is the first to make any
significant progress toward implementation. It is made up of several stages
that will be put into place over time through 2020, subject to budget approval
where financial implications are noted.
Beginning in September 2018, all
incoming sixth graders from Beech Street Elementary School will attend
McLaughlin Middle School. The current school feeder pattern splits Beech Street
graduates between McLaughlin and Southside middle schools. The new proposal
will reunite those students at one school. They will all attend Central High
School for ninth grade.
Plans also are underway to establish a collaboration between Memorial
High School and the Manchester School of Technology to meet the demand of
students wishing to attend MST High School’s four-year program. Right now,
enrollment is limited for students taking core courses and electives because
classroom space is unavailable. MST currently holds a lottery to enroll 9th
graders from the pool of applicants that exceeds the number of openings.
“We have heard from families and students that they are disappointed
enrollment at MST High School can’t be guaranteed,” said Dr. Vargas. “We are
proud of the programs MST offers as a high school choice in our city, and the
district is committed to increasing access to all students who wish to attend.”
Under the superintendent’s plan, MST High School students could take
some of those core classes, including physical education, at neighboring
Memorial High School, and some teachers would be shared between the two
buildings.
Another significant part of the approved redistricting plan is a
gradual move of fifth grade to Manchester’s middle schools. Adoption of the
grades 5-8 middle school model will start on the West Side of Manchester in
September 2019. The Middle School at Parkside will include fifth graders from
Gossler Park, Northwest, and Parker-Varney elementary schools.
“A few of our neighboring school districts and others across New Hampshire and the nation have successfully established this middle school education model, so it is not a new concept,” said Dr. Vargas. “The priorities for making this shift in Manchester will be meeting the students’ needs and strengthening our middle schools that will enhance the educational experience.”
Facility improvements will be made to Parkside in order to accommodate
the new grade. That process will begin this year, with a cost of $312,000.
Similar projects are expected over the next two years to prepare the three east
side middle schools for bringing in the fifth grade classes from the other 11
elementary schools beginning in September 2020.
Other elements of the middle school transition citywide will begin in
2018, including adding middle staff, such as math and foreign language teachers
and social workers. Math curriculum for grades 5-8 will be developed this year,
with additional subject area curriculum planned for 2019-2021. The cost for
2018 comes to about $1 million.
One of the goals in creating the grades 5-8 middle schools is to free
up classrooms in elementary schools for kindergarten through grade four. As a
result, elementary level class sizes will be reduced when finances allow for
hiring additional teachers in those grades.
“Since I arrived in Manchester, one of the top concerns among parents,
administrators, teachers and school board members has been class size,” said
Dr. Vargas. “This plan addresses the need to create smaller class sizes and
ultimately help improve student achievement.”
The k-4 model will follow the timeline of the middle school transition
across the city, beginning on the West Side in September 2019, and expanding to
the rest of Manchester the following year.
Creating a new preschool center also will create space in elementary
schools that currently hold preschool programs. While the Bishop O’Neil Center associated
with Bakersville Elementary School will stay open, the redistricting plan calls
for preschool students and staff at Highland-Goffe’s Falls, Jewett Street,
Parker-Varney, Smyth Road, and Weston to unite at Memorial High School, where
space is available to accommodate the program. Preschool students in the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing program at Green Acres Elementary School would remain
there.
“Manchester can better meet the developmental needs of its preschool
students by streamlining the services they all share and allow more efficient
collaboration among staff,” said Dr. Vargas.
The preschool center would open in September 2019, with its own
entrance and playground. The cost for facility improvements expected to begin
this year at Memorial is projected to be in the range of $1.6 to $2.2 million
dollars.
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