More of the Same

Here is the agenda for tonight School Committee meeting:
http://www.walthampublicschools.org/SC/October%202%202013.pdf

Missing from the agenda is any discussion of the overcrowding issue at the elementary school level.  Color me unsurprised.  And increasingly frustrated.

At the Fitzgerald, Dr. Castelline, our interim principal, is ably managing with the help of our dedicated teachers to make the logistics of teaching 507 students, including four grade levels of LBRR and five grade levels of ELL students in a school clearly designed for far fewer students.  Our promising Challenge Program students are meeting in a conference room.  Our wonderful Dramatic Arts and Science teachers are teaching from carts.  The LBRR students have two grades in one classroom (and have managed, with logistics that UPS can only imagine, to make it work so that most of the day only one grade is actually in the classroom at a time.) The older ELL students are meeting in the library, with an option to use the computer room when it isn't in use.  The younger ELL kids are in what was the teachers' workroom.  When I pick up my kids at the Y after-school program after 5PM, I often see at least two or three teachers who are still there because that is the only time that they have access to the laminating machine, photocopier, paper cutter, and other tools, which have been moved to a small room in the cafeteria.

And all of this is taking place at one of Waltham's only two Level 1 Schools.

I will be at the Fitzgerald Curriculum night tonight, so when I tune in to the School Committee Meeting at around 8:30PM, I will hope that all of the committee members have remembered to bring any pertinent information with them.  If not, perhaps Mr. Tarallo will again come to the rescue and send it electronically.  It's amazing what you can do on the Interwebs these days.  Then, I hope that the Superintendent's Report will include information on the data that are due this month that will allow the Committee to figure out what to do about overcrowding.  I look forward to hearing about the progress of the consultant who will advise on what to do with available space.  I am certain that the "Central Office Location" discussion under "Unfinished Business" will include a detailed plan to move the office to actual office space that is not in a school.  And then, I hope to hear from the Committee Members that they have figured out an equitable way to visit each of the schools in the district on a regular basis to reach out to constituents.

Who thinks I'll get what I want?