By JUDY RATTNER
Some of the changes, they said, can be integrated into the current facility, while others would require a redesign of the school.
The group, called the Compact for Learning Committee, submitted its findings after researching conditions at South Side this year. The complete report is posted on the Rockville Centre school district's Web site, www.rvcschools.org.
"A few years ago, a Compact Committee made recommendations that became a patchwork solution when time was short and we did not have sufficient facilities," the newly released document reads. "The time has come to present a more thoughtful, long-range solution to upgrade the high school for the 21st century."
The "most cogent example" of the need for renovation, according to the report, is the science labs, followed by the school's portable classrooms, library, auditorium and cafeteria. Congestion in the hallways is a major problem that Compact members felt could be substantially reduced through redesign and expansion. Safety and security are significant issues at the school as well.
"I was very pleased with the work the committee did ... an extensive needs assessment of high school facilities," said Dr. Carol Burris, South Side High's principal. "We felt that many of the changes we've made in the past to accommodate increasing enrollment, including things like converting the garage into art facilities and tiny rooms into offices, really weren't sufficient for a long period of time. One of our biggest concerns were our science facilities. Many of those rooms were never designed to be labs. That's a big problem. They were small classrooms that needed to be converted because of our exploding enrollment in science classes.
"They also raised serious concerns regarding security in the building," Burris said. "If there's an emergency, very often they're unaware because they're not hearing the bells. The other problem is that we can't totally lock up the school because kids and teachers are coming in through various doors throughout the day.
"We also realized that the portables, which was supposed to be a temporary solution, was not," Burris added. "Despite renovation, many of those buildings are not really conducive to teaching and learning. They're in poor condition ... their time has come."
"The board is certainly very pleased with the amount of time and effort that the committee put into this project and with the detail that this report entails," said Board of Education President Mark Masin. "We're taking it very seriously."
Diane Funk, a parent who has been a member of the Compact Committee for several years, said that space and security issues were the impetus for the report. "The science labs are really important," Funk said. "They didn't have the proper space and they're not up to date. Hallway congestion -- it's an issue, it's very unsafe. There are areas in the school where there's a bottleneck. If there's ever an emergency, it would be very difficult to get everyone out. The portables ... cause a security issue because students are going in and out of several open doors. And the cafeteria - there's no way to have regular lunch periods. There isn't enough room."
Deana Davoudiasl, a Compact team member who will be a junior in the fall, said, "These suggestions are necessities and not luxuries. They take into account problems that have long prevented every student from the best learning experience ... The time has come to no longer accept temporary solutions - such as the portable classrooms - for permanent problems. Action needs to be taken now."
The report's suggestions
Science labs
Replace four small science rooms with four new labs. To enable materials to be easily transported and shared, each discipline - physics, biology and chemistry - should have office space that facilitates collegiality as well as proximity to the labs. New labs should be as large as the original science labs, and should have the technology to assist students in measuring and recording results.
Original labs should be extensively renovated and brought up to current science standards. Cramped office space should be reconverted to its original purpose, prep rooms. The science research program should have dedicated storage for projects; it now doubles as classroom space. The former small science labs could be reclaimed as office or classroom space.
Portable classrooms
What were once a temporary solution have since become a permanent fixture. Safety is a major problem because of the classrooms' location, adjacent to the "new" wing. Students and staff are isolated from the main building and out of security's and administration's sight. The school's doors must remain open, leaving the main building vulnerable to intruders.
In addition to structural issues, classroom management issues and thin walls amplify distractions. Overall, the portable classrooms hinder learning and inhibit effective teaching.
Library
Move the library from its present location and convert the space into classrooms. This would help the traffic flow, making the change of classrooms easier and safer. A technologically and ergonomically redesigned library would benefit both students and librarians as the delivery of information moves from mainly print to multimedia sources. Downlinks of television news programs, film clips, books, periodicals and other graphic and audio segments would allow the library to draw on vast archives of both popular and scholarly sources without having to buy and store volumes of printed material.
Traffic flow
Renovate and extend the building. Severe congestion in the hallways is caused by poorly located and narrow staircases and a limited number of hallways. Nearly all classrooms are clustered in one end of the building, which comprises less than half of the structure. Last year, chaos on the second floor resulted from an unexpected diversion of traffic when EMS was called to attend to someone in the school.
Additional recommendations
n Renovate the auditorium, similar to the renovation in the middle school.
n Additional cafeteria space should accommodate all students who are now forced off campus, or eat in hallways or classrooms, creating an unsanitary environment.
n The school needs to find "green" solutions to conserve energy, which could also be created through renovation and redesign.
"As we looked at the totality of the issues," said Burris, "we came to the conclusion that the only real solution was a major renovation that would include some new buildings. Any major renovation to the high school would take several years to draw up plans and get started. There would have to be voter approval. So the committee's thoughts were that by the time we would actually get started, we would be out of this recession. It's multi-year thinking. The second thought we had was that because any new construction would incorporate "green" technology, we might be able to get federal money to help with the renovation."
But Funk sees the proposed changes to the school as somewhat less major. "If you sum it up, it's a space issue," she said. "Not a lot of space - it's not like they have to add on 10 or 20 classrooms or double the size of the building - but they'd probably need to add something on, and a redesign. There has to be an architect for the renovation, but a little bit of building could go a long way."
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