Sligo Creek Pta Alternative Boundary Proposal

SLIGO CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION 500 Schuyler Road Silver Spring, MD 20910 November 4, 2009 Members, Board of Education Montgomery County Public Schools 850 Hungerford Drive Rockville, MD 20850 RE:

Proposed Alternatives For Boundary Changes

Dear Members of the Board: We were very pleased to see that Superintendent Jerry Weast’s recommendation recognizes that an overly reduced enrollment in the Sligo Creek E.S. Academy will negatively impact the viability of our academic program. We look forward to working with OSP and the school administration to ensure a high quality educational program for students in all of the school’s programs. However, we remain concerned that Option 1B (as modified) will result in having only one class per grade at some grade levels. As the superintendent recently pointed out in his proposal to close Monocacy Elementary School, schools that have only one class per grade experience a variety of “academic and programmatic issues,” such as “fewer options to differentiate mathematics instruction,” “difficulty balancing class sizes as enrollment patterns seldom divide neatly across grade levels,” and “little opportunity for … meaningful collaboration [among teachers].” We believe that the superintendent’s recommendation will almost certainly create these very same academic and programmatic problems at Sligo Creek E.S. next year and for many years to come. We explain in some detail the basis for our concerns, and then we offer three possible alternatives to alleviate those concerns. A.

Sligo Creek’s Academy Program Will Most Likely Have One Class Per Grade In Some Classes Under The Superintendent’s Recommendation

The superintendent’s recommendation states that there should be an average of 33-35 students per grade under his recommendation. While this may well come to pass, we believe there would be significantly fewer than 33-35 students in some grades immediately upon the implementation of his recommendation. Student enrollment in the Academy program this school year, excluding those students residing in SC4 and SC5 (who would be reassigned under the superintendent’s recommendation), is as follows: Grade K 1st 2nd

Enrollment 34 40 30

3rd 4th 5th Total

25 31 20 180

Based on this data, it is virtually assured that the Academy program would have only one class per grade in some grades next year under MCPS staffing formulas. For example, under the superintendent’s recommendation, there will be approximately 25 students in the 4th grade next year (Fall 2010). This level of enrollment cannot justify two classes for that grade. Given yearly fluctuations in enrollment, it is a near certainty that this problem will occur in at least one grade every year in the near future, under the superintendent’s recommendation. These facts pose a threat for long-term stability at the school, and will soon lead to the same academic and programmatic problems experienced at Monocacy E.S. We believe the Board should take action now to rectify these problems before they manifest, rather than waiting to solve them several years down the road. To that end, we offer three alternative proposals for new boundaries. B.

The Board Should Consider Formalizing Sligo Creek’s Science Academy Program And Opening Enrollment To Out Of Boundary Students

We propose that the Board should formalize the science focus in Sligo Creek’s Academy program and open up enrollment in the program to out of boundary students in the upper grades (3 through 5). This proposal presumes that the lower grades (K-2) will not be at risk of having only one class per grade, due to continued status as a focus school. As detailed in our June 2009 position paper, since Sligo Creek E.S. was founded in 1999 it has provided an enhanced math and science program for all Academy students. In the two years in which 5th grade students have taken the Science MSA, Sligo Creek E.S. has been the highest-scoring school in the Downcounty Consortium. Although we have not had an opportunity to fully analyze the 2009 results, in 2008 Sligo Creek E.S. students achieved a combined advanced plus proficient percentage (A+P) score of 75%. Sligo Creek’s students outscored three of the county’s eight schools with centers for highly gifted students; was outperformed by only two schools with higher FARMs rates (Fox Chapel, which hosts a Center for Highly Gifted Students, and Beall, which hosts an MCPS pre-school and a HeadStart program); and, demonstrated success in teaching an ethnically diverse student body, with 71.4% of Hispanic students scoring advanced or proficient (versus the Montgomery County average of 47.6%) and 58.6% of African-American students scoring advanced or proficient (versus the Montgomery County average of 50.7%). We propose that MCPS formalize its commitment to the Academy Math and Science Program through its established Enhanced Program Protocol Application (EPPA) process, funding a full-time science position as a teaching position (rather than through the current practice of funding a part-time position through Academic Intervention), as well as retaining the math position (currently part-time) or restoring it to full-time as the program was originally envisioned. All Academy students would continue to receive enriched science instruction, and the program would continue to sponsor a variety of events, including family science nights, tree

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planting, shad and herring egg hatching, a 4th grade boating exploration of the Anacostia River, and weekly science labs that culminate in a 5th grade science fair. We propose that MCPS create a lottery or application process for out-of-boundary students to enroll in the Sligo Creek E.S. Math and Science Academy in Grade 3. The application process could function somewhat like the Takoma Park E.S. primary grade magnet lottery, in which the school accepts students based on space availability. Based on the enrollment data described in the table above, we believe the program could accept up to 15 students from out of boundary into Grade 3 each year. MCPS could also consider giving preference to FARMs students to ensure that the demographic profile at Sligo Creek E.S. continues to reflect the greater Silver Spring community. This proposal should be quite cost effective. For the cost of one full-time science position, the Academy program would have sufficient enrollment levels in the upper grades to justify two classes per grade under MCPS staffing formulas instead of potentially having two overly small classes in the upper grades in some years and continual reassessment of staffing needs and review by OSP. Moreover, this proposal would not adversely affect any of the other schools affected by the boundary changes. Transportation to the school would not be affected, as busing to Sligo Creek is already provided from all areas of the Downcounty Consortium for students in the French Immersion program. C.

The Board Should Consider Reassigning ESS5b To Sligo Creek E.S.

Another alternative is a modification to the superintendent’s recommendation to reassign ESS5b from East Silver Spring E.S. to Sligo Creek E.S. ESS5b is a region of downtown Silver Spring just south of the Silver Spring metro station. This zone is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the greater Silver Spring and Takoma Park communities in terms of housing. Within this zone are several established high-rise residential buildings (The Blairs and Blair Plaza apartments) and several newly constructed high-rise residential buildings (The Bennington apartments, Silverton condominiums, and Veridian apartments). This zone is slated for more high-density development (such as the Midtown apartments and 1200 East-West Highway) in the near future. Based on the large volume of new and increasing housing units in this zone, MCPS can expect this zone to generate an increase in student enrollment. Significantly, many of these students will be new to the school system or will be transferring into local schools from outside the boundaries of any of the schools affected by the boundary change. We do not have access to data concerning the actual number of students living or projected to live in zones ESS5a and ESS5b, but we believe MCPS’ projected figure for ESS5b in 2010 is around 25 students. Increasing enrollment in Sligo Creek’s Academy program by around 25 students in 2010, with larger increases in future years due to new housing construction in ESS5b, would significantly diminish the prospect of having only one class per grade in any given grade. In addition, reassignment of ESS5b to Sligo Creek E.S. would make the demographic profile at Sligo Creek E.S. more reflective of the greater Silver Spring community and would ameliorate some of the concerns of the other schools affected by the boundary changes. Specifically, it would decrease utilization at Piney Branch E.S., where there is no room for portables to handle over-utilization. It would also increase utilization at Silver Spring

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International M.S. and decrease utilization at Takoma Park M.S. since Sligo Creek E.S. articulates to Silver Spring International M.S. and East Silver Spring E.S. articulates to Takoma Park M.S. The superintendent noted in his recommendation that a significant capital investment has been made by the school system to support the construction of eight additional classrooms at East Silver Spring E.S. and that any reassignment of students out of the school could underutilize this space. We agree that this capital investment should be fully utilized, and we do not believe our proposal is at odds with this objective. Since many of the children who reside or will be residing in ESS5b over the next few years are not currently attending East Silver Spring E.S., the prospect of significant numbers of reassignments from that school under this alternative is quite small. Moreover, it can be expected that the large amount of new housing development in the ESS5a zone (just south of ESS5b) will generate increased enrollment for East Silver Spring E.S. over time and more than make up for any current students who are reassigned to Sligo Creek E.S. Our proposal also would not result in any material increased travel time for students. ESS5b is not within walking distance of either school, and the travel time by bus between ESS5b and either school is comparable. Transportation to the school would not be affected, as busing to Sligo Creek E.S. is already provided from all areas of the Downcounty Consortium for students in the French immersion program. We are aware that this proposal would divide the south Silver Spring community into two different schools, and that some members of that community have expressed a desire to keep the community assigned to a single school. Given the small number of families with students residing in ESS5b, it is difficult for us to gauge how strongly the parents in this zone feel about ensuring that their children attend the same school as children residing in ESS5a. As Board members may have more information about this issue than we do, we leave it to the Board to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of this option. D.

The Board Should Consider Modifying The Superintendent’s Recommendation To Make ESS5b A Choice Zone

Another alternative is a modification to the superintendent’s recommendation to make ESS5b a “choice” zone, in which families may choose either East Silver Spring or Sligo Creek elementary schools as their home elementary school. This proposal would provide some additional enrollment for Sligo Creek E.S. For the reasons stated above, this proposal would not cause under-utilization in the newly enlarged East Silver Spring E.S. facility and would not result in increased travel time or transportation costs. Moreover, this proposal would mitigate the negative impacts (under- and over-utilization) at other schools, as described above. Our proposal is also consistent with the existing practice of allowing students residing in ESS3 to have the choice to attend either East Silver Spring or Takoma Park elementary schools. Notably, Option 1B as originally drafted would have eliminated this choice and assigned ESS3 to Takoma Park E.S., and the superintendent’s only recommended modification to the option was to allow families living in ESS3 to continue to have this choice. His reasoning was that this choice has not had a negative impact on the enrollment or facility utilization of either school. The same can

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be said of our proposal. Allowing ESS5b families to choose between Sligo Creek E.S. and East Silver Spring E.S. would not have a negative impact on enrollment or utilization at either facility. To the contrary, it would improve enrollment at Sligo Creek E.S., and mitigate other negative impacts of the superintendent's recommendation by reducing potential under- and overutilization at other schools. However, of the three proposals described in this letter, we think this proposal is the least preferable because it would provide only a small and unpredictable amount of increased enrollment at Sligo Creek E.S. Conclusion We wish to thank you in advance for your careful consideration of these alternative proposals. We recognize that none of these proposals is a perfect solution. However, we believe they are each an improvement upon the superintendent's recommendation. Even a small infusion of student enrollment could make a meaningful difference and preserve the integrity and quality of the Academy program at Sligo Creek E.S. Among the alternatives we have proposed, we prefer the formalization of the Academy's Math and Science program. This is a relatively low investment option that would eliminate the problems of under-enrolhnent at the school while providing an attractive option for families considering different academic programs and opening up enriched science education to a broader group of students. If this option is not selected, we would favor the reassignment of ESS5b over the choice option. If the Board rejects all of these alternatives and opts for the superintendent's recommendation, we request that the Board direct Dr. Weast to issue publicly available reports on the actions OSP is taking to achieve the goal of ensuring two classes per grade in the Academy program when the boundary changes are implemented and again if enrollment drops below projections and results in one class per grade at any grade level. Onbehalf of the Sligo CreeLE.S. PTA, Iwmifer Lage, President

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