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To the editor:
I am writing this as a Marshall community member. I wrote this on my personal computer outside of the workday.
As a teacher who has taught 18 years (in the Marshall Public School District), I've experienced a lot of change over the years. My first year of teaching was when all-day every day kindergarten began in Marshall. I was hired to teach one of the additional kindergarten sections that were added to Park Side Elementary in the fall of 1999. Thank you so much, Marshall community, for voting in the referendum that year which focused on lowering class sizes and adding all-day every day kindergarten before it was fully funded by the state. It didn't go unnoticed and we (primary teachers) totally felt the support! In 2003, a referendum was passed (East Side Elementary was sold) allowing for reconfiguration of the smaller kindergarten classrooms into larger kindergarten rooms (per state regulations) and thus allowing us to be a K-2 building. What a joy it was to have what we termed as a "Primary Center." Prior to that Park Side had been a K, 5-6 building which posed a lot of problems for our littlest learners being around older students in the halls, locker areas and bathrooms. It was so amazing to have K-2 students in the same building and it was so refreshing to finally be able to collaborate with grade levels and administrators that had a primary school mindset. Truly something that was in the best interest of our youngest learners.
Since 1999, numerous things have changed, as they well should when the world around us is changing at such a rapid pace. Our district mission statement even reflects this change stating, "Marshall Public School District #413 develops the potential of each learner for success in a changing world." Technology, curriculum, areas of focus and expectations have not only changed, but the rigor that goes along with those areas has increased tremendously. As an example, when I started teaching kindergarten (fall 1999), 5 and 6 year olds were expected to recognize 16-26 capital letters in the alphabet. Now, not only do our 5 and 6 year olds need to be able to recognize all 52 upper and lowercase letters, but they also are learning sight words and many are reading beginning level books by the time they enter 1st Grade. A majority of this shift in academics is due to the state standards changing over time as well as our youngest learners beginning school around 3 years old vs. 5 years old. Preschool is almost a prerequisite to kindergarten, not only expected but maybe someday soon to be the norm and possibly fully funded by the state in the future. Thus, academic standards and expectations have shifted to reflect this change up through the grades - what was being taught in 1st Grade in the past is now being taught in kindergarten and so forth up through 12th grade. One of the many positive changes that the new 2017 referendum addresses is reconfiguring Park Side into a prek-1 building allowing for new collaboration to take place between ALL preschool students and k, 1 teachers, staff and students. The proposed new elementary school would house 2nd-4th Grade, allowing for new collaborations there between colleagues and students. Plus, there would be potential for adding additional sections in both buildings, which our growing class sizes need. With this configuration, we have the potential to be even better and can continue providing our students with a first class education in an environment that is conducive for this.
Class sizes are on the rise. In the fall of 1999, our class sizes were around 17 students per kindergarten class. Seventeen students was fairly manageable and it kept the numbers lower in the primary grades which is ideal (thank you to the school board and the Marshall community for recognizing this), but adding additional sections posed a problem for classroom space. We were teaching kindergarten in a classroom meant for 5th and 6th Graders and displacing four teachers/students/programs to add the 4 extra sections of kindergarten. Because of state requirements (so many square feet per kindergarten student), new classrooms were created within our existing Park Side building when the 5th and 6th grade sections could be moved out to their new location at the Middle School (after that was retrofitted) and the current high school was built in 2004. Making way for these larger kindergarten classrooms took away smaller rooms as walls were knocked out to make two into one, with some leftover space for storage in two areas of the building. What was once the multi-purpose room, used for large group projects, plays, art, etc., was converted into a kindergarten classroom. The computer lab and EL room was combined to make an additional classroom. Another shift, not only in classroom space, but in the number of students we now had in our classrooms was climbing up towards 23 students in our kindergarten rooms. Our conversations were focusing on an increasing student enrollment and how we are going to meet the needs of our students (now that the rigor of academics has also increased and keep in mind that some students had the skills they need to start school and some did not, so the achievement gap was and continues to be widespread) and the norm seemed to be above 20 students in each classroom. Structurally, our buildings were not meant to house that many students per classroom. Twenty-four students in each room meant full tables and cubbies, lack of lockers, and overall less room in the classroom. One year my largest class size was 25 students, in which we made do, but space was so limited and it was much more challenging to meet all the students’ varying needs. Currently, classroom numbers are around 22 students per classroom and each grade level K-4 has eight to nine sections vs. six as in the past. Present day classrooms are not only facing academic needs, but an increasing number of behavioral, special needs, and EL students (English Learners) make up each classroom.
Space is always an issue especially when you add sections or programs. Something has to move to make room for new additions. Having been a part of the Park Side school community for quite some time, I know first-hand how packed each nook and cranny is in that building. Many areas outside the classroom are being used as teaching space for small groups or individual tutoring, which is not conducive to learning with all the hallway traffic and noise. Teachers have even assessed or worked with small groups of students in the storage areas or closets. Tutors are teaching in a sectioned off area in the music room, which is highly distracting when music class is being held. Currently at Park Side, there is a portable unit in front where small groups of students and teachers have class. I was able to be a part of this "portable community" we affectionately called, "The Learning Lab" last school year when I made the switch from kindergarten to Title I Reading. The Learning Lab is divided in half and in each half of the unit there are three to four teachers teaching a small group of students at any given time. Each teacher has their own learning/teaching space divided by either shelves or portable dividers. My teaching area was quite small allowing for a horseshoe table and 5 chairs. If I wanted to get up and walk around the table to help a student, it was very hard to do so without running into a shelf or divider. This was even harder to do when the students brought coats with them as that would take up more space. We would have to all push our chairs in at the same time and wait to move until the person closest to the exit would file out. The noise level in The Learning Lab is also less than optimal. Not only do we work with some of our neediest learners, but attention is also an issue. When you have a noisy learning area it makes it difficult for our struggling learners to focus. Not to mention it is hard to conduct a lesson when you hear your colleagues teaching at the same time. Other disadvantages to the portable unit are: lost learning time due to transitioning students in and out of the portable and having to put on/take off the outdoor clothes, no bathroom or running water, a sense of disconnect from the building climate and camaraderie, leaking windows, insect infestations in the lights or sneaking in when the doors are open so frequently, and critters making homes underneath. As stated previously, when the state regulation size kindergarten classrooms were created, it displaced a lot of programs being run in those rooms. The computer lab was now being set up in part of the library (media center). Today, Park Side no longer has a computer lab (it's on a cart, called a mobile lab or students use their one to one devices) and the Media Center has been moved to a classroom. What was once the Media Center space is now three classrooms (called the Individualized Learning Center) and the Reading Specialist's office/classroom.
Amber Swenson
Marshall