District cuts art, music for more test prep

Elementary school students in the Malverne school district will spend more time in their classrooms on reading and writing workshops and only once every 12 days in the school library — and some parents are not happy about it.

In order to help student better prepare for the New York State English-Language Arts and Math Assessments, district administrators have decided to the cut the district’s art, music and library instruction programs, and give kids extra instruction time — a move one parent believes to be counterproductive.

Students need “creative outlets,” Laura Avvinti, president of the Davison Avenue Intermediary School PTA, told administrators at the Board of Education’s July 12 meeting. “If you burn them out, your test scores are only going to go down,” she said, adding a request for the board to reconsider the cuts.

Whereas previously elementary school students attended the library every six days, now they will attend half as often, and they’ll have art and music two or three times throughout the six-day course cycle — overall they will spend 25 fewer hours studying these fields.

Deputy Superintendent Richard Banyon acknowledged Avvinti’s point, even saying he agreed “wholeheartedly” that children need creative education, but stressed the importance of meeting state testing standards. If the district fails to meet those standards, he said, it could be designated as a school “in need.”

Additionally, Banyon said, he had to cut 19 full-time teaching positions in order to comply with the budget taxpayers approved in May. He warned that there could be additional cuts coming, depending on the outcome of this past spring’s assessments, particularly if the scores are low and the district is mandated to supply more students with Academic Intervention Services.

The rush to improve assessment scores is the result of the State Education Department’s decision to raise the bar at all grade levels mid-year in 2010. The new standard put a halt to the continually increasing passing rates in English Language Arts and math that school districts across the state had enjoyed in recent years. In the Malverne school district, the overall average proficiency rate dropped by as much as 29 percent.

Still, parents urged administrators to find creative ways to restore creativity to the classroom and provide students with a well-rounded education that will prepare them for the assessments. Danielle Henshaw, a mother of two and a member of the Maurice W. Downing and Davison Avenue PTAs, suggested the district consider playing classical music over the public announcement system throughout the day. Board Trustee Gina Genti, who has two boys in the district, said the district should work on include social studies, art and science into the test preparation — something Banyon said the district has begun to do in the primary grade levels.

Assistant Superintendent of District Operations Spiro Colaitis said it’s up to the teachers to bring more into their classrooms. “Teachers have flexibility to take their classes into the library in addition to what they’re doing,” he said.