During an all-day reorganizational meeting of the Rockville Centre Board of Education on July 1, the board heard from South Side High School Principal Carol Burris, who participated in a detailed presentation of the new classes to the curriculum committee, which includes parents.
The plan is to combine the Regents and advanced levels of English and social studies into one class. The curriculum committee was supportive of the idea after asking many questions at the presentation.
Parents complained at a previous meeting that struggling students would get lost in the shuffle and bogged down with extra support classes and tutors. They were also worried about the flip side, that high-performing students would be bored and not challenged.
The district as well as the curriculum committee promised to keep a close eye on the classes next year to see how students adjust. In October, parents will get information about the exact grading rubric for the classes. A child who does his or her best work will pass the class, said Burris.
The July 1 meeting was Marcia Hirsch's first as president of the board. Outgoing president Meg Koch was made secretary, and newly re-elected Lorrie Brady was named vice president.
Class size and continued problems with the Math A Regents were also discussed.
The board plans to create a committee, including PTA members, to study the district's class size policy and whether it should be adjusted. The first step will be to determine whether there really is a problem with the current policy or if it is just a perceived problem. The board hopes the committee will be able to begin presenting information to the public at meetings in October. Then, possible solutions will be addressed beginning in November, in time for serious evaluation during budget time in January.
Math A morose
The district remains concerned about how ninth- and 10th-grade students will be affected by the Math A Regents, which state education officials have admitted was flawed. The Department of Education, however, has not made any decisions about re-scoring the exam, so students who failed it aren't sure what their schedules will be next year.
The students will not have the chance to take the test in August, since it has been canceled. "It's a mess," said Burris.
There have also been high failure rates on the Math B test. For now, if students passed it, they'll move on to pre-calculus; if they failed the course and the test, they'll repeat the course. The third option is if they passed the course and failed the test (in June and August), they'll take a re-vamped Sequential IV class. This will prepare them to take the Math B exam again in January, which will serve as a midterm while they move on with more advanced work in the second half of the year.
Superintendent Dr. William Johnson compared the situation to teaching a child to drive a car but testing him or her on an 18-wheeler.
Thanks again, Mr. C
Staff member Ralph Campanella was recognized for stepping in to serve as interim principal at South Side Middle School and for helping ease the transition to the new administrative staff there. Watson School, where he is a former principal, dedicated its playground to him.
The next meeting of the board will be a public work session on Thursday, July 24 at 8:30 p.m. -- changed from the original date of July 29.
