Meeting to be held Wednesday at Dawes Avenue School

SOMERS POINT – School officials are looking for parent input on the possible restructuring of the schools to separate students by grade level only.

A meeting about the proposal was held Monday, Feb. 6 at Jordan Road School, and a second meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Dawes Avenue School. Parents in the district received a letter and a brochure last month detailing the restructuring.

Superintendent Jeff Miller said Monday that the recommendation to restructure came from state officials who performed an on-site assessment in accordance with Somers Point being identified as a district in need of improvement.

The designation, which is in year five for Jordan Road School and year two for Dawes Avenue School, is a regulation of the No Child Left Behind act and classifies the school as one of 651 in the state that failed to make adequate yearly progress.

The Collaborative Assessment Plan for Achievement team from the state Department of Education came up with the plan together with teachers and administrators from Somers Point.

“Part of this plan was a recommendation by them to reconfigure the schools so that we could have a k-3 at Dawes and a 4-8 at Jordan. It was their belief that we would be able to better use our resources and become more focused on the grade levels,” Miller said Monday, Feb. 6.

Currently students living on the east side of Route 9 attend Dawes Avenue School from kindergarten through sixth grade and switch to Jordan Road School for seventh and eighth grade, and children on the west side attend Jordan Road School from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Miller said the plan would have to be approved by the school board, which meets 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16 at Dawes Avenue School and 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15 at Jordan Road School. He said the board is not in a rush to approve the plan.

“Whether they decide to do that in February, March or not at all; at this point we’re addressing parents’ concerns and having parents have an opportunity to give us their opinion,” Miller said.

“I am in favor of it; I believe it will lead to a better education program and better use of resources – all of those ideas we put in that brochure,” he added.

“I also believe it will lead to a greater sense of community. Everyone will be going through education in Somers Point together.”

He said the way it is set up now, children from the two sides generally don’t meet up until they are in seventh grade.

Miller said the teachers in the district support the plan and it will give them an opportunity to focus on grade level and subject specific education and work together on student achievement.

“I feel like we can make more effective use of our resources,” said Miller. “I totally understand the emotional aspect of it. There is a real connection that parents have to their school. I have been here my whole career, my kids went to school here, I taught at Jordan and Dawes. I understand that; I certainly appreciate that.”

There is now courtesy busing for students from the east side of town who attend Jordan Road School, he said. Busing would be modified so students could walk to the school nearest them and take a school bus from there to the other school. He added that afterschool activities at Jordan Road could be opened up to include younger grade levels under a restructured district.

About 30 parents attended the Feb. 6 meeting at Jordan Road School, and there were teachers and administrators in the audience as well. Many parents who spoke at the meeting said they were skeptical that the restructuring would improve academic achievement and that their own research indicates otherwise.

Miller, curriculum director Jennifer Luff and Principals Doreen Lee and Susan Dugan answered parents’ questions and explained aspects of the plan.

According to Luff, finding research that fits the Somers Point model would be difficult: It is a district with 1,100 students across two square miles with two neighborhood schools.

Miller said at the meeting that children in a socioeconomic subgroup are failing to meet state benchmarks.

He elaborated on aspects of the proposed plan, including different starting times for the two schools and adding a crossing guard at New Road and Groveland Avenue.

Most of the parents who spoke expressed skepticism about the plan.
Some noted that under the proposal, all students would have to transition to a new school during their academic career instead of only the students who attend Dawes Avenue School. Others suggested that the district have each school educate all grade levels.

One parent who grew up in a school district that had schools broken down by grade level said there were differences between the schools, from programming to parent involvement.

“Looking from the outside coming into this, it seems absolutely absurd. It is such a small town – so why does it need to be so separated?” she asked. “Something’s not working, so something has to change.”

She said changing schools doesn’t have to be traumatic or upsetting.

“They’re not eggshells, they’re children,” she said. “Changing schools is not a horrible thing – it is just an event.”

Luff said parents who wish to comment can contact her or either of the school principals.