##VIDEO ID:aADIcyAj-5s## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e hi good evening everybody good evening good evening um thank you so much for coming out uh my name my name is Jeremy Davies I'm the superintendent of schools for Kenworth um and I'm glad that you're here thank you so much and for anyone who's watching at home good to see you as well no idea um but I'm going to be talking in this general direction just because there might be people watching at home but I'm glad you came in person um because it's much easier to ask questions in person um but thanks for joining us um real quick show of hands fifth grade parents Guardians grade sixth grade parents Guardians seven grade okay anyone else okay good uh good to see the variety here um thanks for coming out we want to make sure as um your children prepare for our upcoming sixth through eth grade middle school experience that we're communicating effectively to you that we've heard your questions your concerns your ideas um and that we can be in good communication about all those things we want to make sure the transition is a successful one we want to make sure that you feel comfortable everything that's happening in our district make sure that your children feel comfortable with everything that's happening in our district so um that's the purpose of tonight I have a team of um some of my colleagues here with me so I just want to introduce real quick um Mr Vincent ganella is our school business administrator um so he's here John Perillo is our David Bry Middle High School principal Miss pavle mine pav is our assistant principal also joining us tonight is Mr bubnowski the Harding principal Miss Carrera the Harding assistant principal and then U Mr Connelly couldn't be here tonight he is our super ideas to process and think about moving forward so that's the purpose is to really have a conversation about this upcoming transition but first before we have a transition a conversation just wanted to go through some e e will be open as of September and that it'll be housing the Middle School sixth grade through 8th grade second floor of David Brey is becoming the middle school right now high school students go up middle school students come down there's a lot of crossover and we're working to make sure that that crossover no longer um is happening um couple things uh then we'll we'll get to some questions um we anticipate that you have questions about the transition um sixth graders coming into seventh grade fifth graders coming into sixth grade um so we have transition e Hing out those dates to you after the new New Year um so you'll get those dates in January um but know that there is uh orientation program it's always been for seventh graders uh but it will be this year there'll be separate orientation programs one for sixth one for seventh graders so that again students have that opportunity to be in the building before the school year starts um so that they can get to know their lockers get to know where the classes are where they're going find the routes know where the bathroom is the nurses office the counselor's office we want to make sure they feel comfortable and so that's what happens on those transition days both in June and in August um and then there's also a parent orientation in August typically it's on the same night as the student orientation so the students come in in the morning uh we have the students here for their orientation program and then we have the parents back in the evening where we go over all the nuts and bolts student handbook type stuff and answer all sorts of questions so that students feel comfortable with their child Rising into the middle school um so that's what we do with some of our transitions want to talk a little bit about our Middle School culture uh that we create and that we're working to even enhance even more as we build this sixth through eth grade middle school um the middle school will have its own principal moving forward uh so right now uh Mr Perillo as Miss pavle as principle and assistant principal they oversee grades 7 through 12 um we believe and we've planned for this that in order for the the Middle School to truly have a middle school identity it needs to have its own principle that person can really focus on your children as middle schoolers Middle School is such an important time in youngsters lives it's there's so many things happening in their world and you need someone who understands them and we want to make sure that you have a building leader that truly gets the Middle School Vibe and knows how to to um to be the best principal for your children so we'll have a principal the Middle School currently has a dedic dedicated counselor that is Mrs Harrison um so this will continue where the middle school has its own counselor um directly focused on sixth seventh and eighth graders also the middle school will have its own nurse again we want to make sure that you you feel that your children are safe and and and well cared for in our when they're with us uh so they have their own dedicated counselor their own dedicated nurse the Middle School the new Wing will have a nurse's office specifically for middle school students um the middle school will have its own schedule it'll be different than the Harding schedule so what current sixth graders are experiencing will be different than what next year's sixth graders experience if that makes any sense so the middle school will have its own schedule and that'll be the same schedule for sixth seventh and eighth graders so they'll all be one unit operating along the same middle school schedule uh similarly academic calendar will be a middle school focus like I don't know if you even realize this but Harding operates on trimesters brierly operates on uh quarters so the middle school will be quarter based um so little things like that will be um focused on on the middle school also know that culturally um we have middle school specific recognitions right now we have a David brly Middle School Scholars award we have a David Bry middle school pride award um and then we have of course the extracurriculars most of our extracurriculars uh for the Middle School are middle school specific there are a few that span both high school and middle school like the robotics team can be Middle School um but we have a specific robotics Club just for middle schoolers um but most of our clubs are middle school specific and um basketball is one of the sports that we have for middle school students uh so you'll see that on the left hand side there's just some of the events that are uniquely middle school again we want to make sure your children feel like they are in their own space um that's focused on the middle school and those are some of the events that take place throughout the course of the calendar year um that really bring the vibe out so that your children feel like they're in a space that's theirs as a sixth seventh or eighth grader another big concern that we thought folks might have is just that separation making sure that my 11-year-old or 12-year-old daughter is not kind of mingling with an 18-year-old high school boy right things like that um we anticipate that parents might have concerns um so we've worked really hard with this renovation and with the addition to make sure that that there's separation we want the middle schoolers to be in the middle school section we want the high schoolers to be in the high school section we've made a lot of great strides over the last few years to improve that um separation for example currently middle schoolers are only allowed to use the restrooms upstairs and high schoolers are only allowed to use the restrooms downstairs that's current that will continue uh middle schoolers will only be allowed to use the restroom in the middle school and high school in the high school um I skipped school entry um so the entrance that I just talked about at the beginning that's being built all students will enter that back entrance but immediately upon entering the doors middle schoolers will Veer to the left and they'll be they'll head to the that back gym that's there and middle schoolers will be housed there until it's time to go to class whereas high schoolers will continue moving straight forward uh and they'll be coming to the cafeteria here where high schoolers will reside until school begins so in that way as soon as they get into the campus basically we're separating middle schoolers from high schoolers as soon as they walk into the building um we are also um considering different entry possibilities like do we adjust start times things like that um for staggered start so that people are coming in at different times and leaving at different times so that's in discussion right now I mentioned the bathrooms the cafeteria um this is currently the middle school and high school cafeteria that you're sitting in moving forward it will be the high school cafeteria the middle schoolers your sixth seventh and eighth graders will be having their cafeteria in that back gym part of the referendum project is that the back gym is being equipped with a kitchen um so that kitchen is being built back there in that back gym there's a whole Space carved out for it and middle schoolers will be there so they won't be coming into this space and interacting with with high schoolers ever they have their own periods for lunch they have their own space for lunch similarly with the gym um they will not ever be changing in the same moment uh in a locker room with high schoolers uh so middle schoolers have their own PE periods high schoolers have their own PE periods they're never crossing paths in a locker room or uh for a PE period so we know that those are some concerns that parents might have and we're making sure that those things remain separated um so that developmentally and age appropriate things are happening where they're supposed to happen I mentioned the upstairs then downstairs hallway um there should not be any crossover there are few times where a middle schooler might need to come to um a room down here for example we have a dance studio so if your child happens to take dance as either a cycle or an elective or something like that um they would have to come down the staircase but that staircase is very close to that Middle School Entrance um and there won't be really any interaction with high schools so we've really worked to minimize um the crossover that's happening that's it for my presentation portion I want to give you a bunch of nuts and bolts and kind of tell you where we are and what we've been thinking about and now we want to open this up to you uh what are you thinking about what questions do you have what concerns do you have what are things that you want us to think about as we move forward over the next six months uh that you want us to communicate out to you um so that you feel comfortable with this transition and that we can make sure your kids feel comfortable with this transition so I open it up now um I'll answer questions that I can we're also taking notes so if we can answer a question we will get back to you with information yes sir you talking about principle yeah so um that it's not necessarily it could be a direct all the sixth grade team is coming to brierly but we haven't worked out those details yet but we're not increasing our teaching staff with this transition because we're not increasing our students um so there you know there is no need to increase our staffing from that perspective but so if you're going to take a one for one I understand no increased class size if you don't take all the teachers from paring are we expecting less seven six graders no no no um sorry we will be taking one for one mathematically I just don't know if it's the sixth grade like right now there's a bunch of names that I could rattle off um I don't know if it's going to be them but it's going to be a one for one so that class sizes don't increase yeah good question thank you yes sir yes so um the space is designed for that um and we have protocols that where like the these cafeteria tables will quickly be folded up and moved off into the side so that gym can take place um the way the schedule currently is unfolding we don't necessarily need to do that but the space is designed to do that so the way it's looking right now is that eighth grade for example will have eighth grade gym and no one else grades six through 12 will have gym at the same time so that's the way it's playing out um but if there were a situation down the road next year or the next year or the next year where because of Staffing or because of the schedule um for example 10th graders and high schoolers need to have gym at the same time as seventh graders they would be in separate spaces kids I know it's crazy now student drops you ever think about have that little that over yeah um two things one that is one of the reasons why we're considering a staggered start time um because of the drop off right like that bottleneck that currently exists with six grades now we add a seventh grade coming to one building eek right so that's one of the consider itations um the loop the little um Loop over here we've spoken with the kennel with police about that um they have major concerns because of the backup that that will cause on um Monroe um just you know it just takes every kid getting out of every car takes a few seconds and then all of a sudden there's 50 cars lined up um and it becomes a a nightmare so we have considered that um that little driveway that's created there um is really for during the day if a parent needs to come in for a meeting with a teacher or the principal or the nurse to pick up a child from the nurse's office that's where you'll go and park your car to to run into the building to drop off lunch to pick up your kid to have a meeting um so that's really designed for that kind of interaction it's not equipped to really handle you know 300 kids being dropped off good question yes how do think you're going to be able to stop the kids going down and the old kids going up question U sorry I'm just I don't know if I should be repeating the questions for folks at home but uh the question is is how are we stopping students from going down and going up yeah yeah um couple things one we always have staff members on Hall Duty um so and we have them at Key spots and that Hall Duty person is supposed to keep kids from going into certain zones number two there's consequences and we have grade level assemblies um with all of our students and they know that there's consequences if they find themselves in the space where they're not supposed to be um currently if a middle schooler ends up in a high school bathroom that's a problem and there's a consequence for that same thing if a high schooler ends up in a middle school bathroom there's a consequence for that and in order to get into a bathroom you have to sign in with your student ID number or last name and your picture pops up on the screen so the teacher who's sitting there at the door at the um at the bathroom knows who you are and knows what grade you're in so that's how we prevent those things from happening um and there are consequences for that um I also like currently it is hard to manage that because high schoolers are supposed to be upstairs and middle schools are supposed to be downstairs sometimes whereas in the future it really shouldn't be the case except for a few minor occasions but there should be no reason ever that a high schooler is upstairs whether middle schooler is downstairs maybe um but there should not be high schoolers upstairs ever both levels yes yeah so the question is is the addition connecting the school is a new part the new Wing connected to the old part on both levels yes there's hallway accesses accesses on both levels yeah yes so the uh the question is about Harding and recess for sixth graders currently Harding has sixth grade recess one day a week um as part of their cycle um one day per week sixth graders have recess um but that's not part of the plan mve moving forward with the middle school it's not typical that middle schoolers have recess um that usually ends in elementary school and many high many middle schools are sixth through 8th so we're kind of in line uh with u middle schools in general sixth grade next year uh it depends uh that's a question that we're going to get an answer to you moving forward as I said we're considering kind of staggered starts um right now the David breely school day begins at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 2:23 p.m. um so that's the school day but that might change so don't quote me on that for what a sixth grader schedule will be but that might change yes sir so the question is what's the earliest we can drop students off so currently the building opens up at 7:15 uh so 30 minutes prior to to classes beginning uh we open up the building um again we haven't ironed out that specific detail yet for next year depending on start times but I imagine it would be something similar is Street could open on 14 Street is there any way that the gate on 14th Street could be open I thought it was supposed to be open so isn't it supposed to be open Mr ganella I'm looking at you I thought I think it's supposed to be open I think it's I think it is um yeah I'm pretty certain it is i' I see students walking from from there now so I think it is open um and that the intent is to have it open so that students can use that cut through the field to get to school yeah you're thinking about drop off I could see yes Mr ganel for Middle School um do you want to talk about that there's a microphone right there sports specifically Sports is basketball okay sorry yeah um for middle school right now the district has basketball as an extra uh as an after school extracurricular program that runs in the winter uh so it starts December and runs through February everybody all the SCH are going in same entrance same entrance yes the question is are all the students going in the same entrance well um the front door of David Bry is right over here um that's it's nice but dropping off on Monroe is just not t like that can't happen um that would be an utter disaster so then we have a side entrance over here again that's right in the drive way if everyone were stopping right there no one would get to school on time they'd be at least 30 minutes late um so then you have to send people into the back and then the closest door is that main entrance that we've redesigned um which back there's a there's a little curve if you drive out there I don't know if you walked here or drove here but if you drive out you'll just kind of swing by you'll see it um it's a big huge entrance um and there's whole curb of drop off spots um and you know people need to pull up and if everyone pulls up then it's not an issue and then if everyone gets out when they pull up that's fine but it is it is a bottleneck um whenever we have that parent orientation and I I think you know I used to be principal I would beg parents if you drop your child school starts at 7:45 if you drop your child off at 7:40 it's a disaster if you drop your child off at 7:35 there's nobody here um it's amazing what five minutes will do and I know how hard it is I have a child myself I know how hard it is to get people out the door but that five minute difference really does does help Mr ganel that drop off really designed purposes purp police deal with something that might happen in the middle school but it's also designed for parent around lunch or whatever that is can drop off that's it's really not designed for the mass so a child walking into school has to go through par Yeah question is is a does a child walking to school have to go through the park parking lot yes [Music] um yes does it seem safe to walk through the parking lot um I mean they don't walk I'm sorry they don't walk through the parking lot there's there's sidewalks all along the sides and then there's a special crosswalk in the back where they're supposed to cross um we also have I didn't mention this but David Bry itself has both a school resource officer and a special law enforcement officer and we're working on getting um a security guard um so we have a lot and those those folks are out in the morning um helping students with the drop off and the navigating the parking lot but for those who walk to school um I generally see them walking along like sometimes people walk from the Harding area and they just walk along the sidewalk there to that back entrance and sometimes I see people coming in um that back gate and they walk along the the sidewalk on the other side then cross up by the school where there's a crosswalk you mentioned the security guard where new people for the is there anything else that we should be expecting I remember when we were talking the refer I guess it was very clear to me that we were inreasing sta size security nurse principal counselor so the counselor's already here uh so she worked here for many years U so there's so we're increasing her role sorry um the nurse is already here um the district currently has three nurses um and so that third nurse is here for for the Middle School um the third nurse came about during covid um and that third nurse works really well for when nurses are absent nurses need to go on field trips nurses take their lunch so having that third nurse already exists so we're not increasing the nurse we're not increasing the counselor um and the security is a is an aid position uh so it's not a um so principal are we going have an assistant principle I'm just trying to get an understanding what the tax implication of all this really fair yep Fair we've been experiencing a lot of Rapid Fair yep people should be one one new like full-fledged position that has like a salary to it the security Aid I mean it's a it's a power professional rate they get paid on an hourly rate and that's yes you're welcome do the ks get dismissed question is where do the kids get dismissed they go back out the same way they came in agreed yeah yes the question is is where do they get dismissed and isn't that going to be uh a lot of people um and that's why we're again we're considering the staggered um right now kids older kids um that is a possibility uh Al so I'm not saying we can't consider that I just think the more effective way to go is with the staggered start time so like right now David Bry has 750 students in it want come the same they all get dismissed at the same time it's a lot of kids at one time and then it just kind of over about five minutes it's no longer with a staggered start you would have 500 students leaving at one time for the high school and then you'd have the 300 or so middle school students leaving at a completely different time so the staggered start equates to a staggered dismissal so that's Pro in my view that's the better way to approach that bottleneck that happens rather than having children exit a door where there's no pickup spots and now they're just hanging out on Monroe or hanging out on the side of a building in a field um you you know right now October it hasn't rained in months um so that's not that big of a deal but when it's snowing raining that is the best spot um it's it's a new entrance that's been built to house students um having been the Principal here when it's pouring out um students didn't want to leave and go off into the rain until they knew their parent was visible that created a kind of a disaster frankly in the hallways now we have this whole Atrium space that's designed where kids who are waiting for their ride or the bus now there's a space for them to actually wait um and not be bottlenecked in a small little hallway where it's unsafe and not be thrown out into the rain where they're now getting drenched um so I I do think that back entrance is the best space I don't disagree we can consider alternative spaces for kids to exit um but I think the staggered dismissal time along with the staggered start time is the better approach question is how long do they get for lunchtime 22 22 minutes for lunch a lot of asss are being made that kids are being picked up and dropped off and is is that the right assumption I mean what's our percentage 50% of the kids are getting picked up from school so the other 50% and I'll just throw a number out there they're going to live in disate part of and they're going to want to exit through different do so if a child lives on the North End North of Monroe we're sending them out the south of the building in the forign r to walk around to go up to mro so why wouldn't we just let them leave where they want I understand the truth is we do we don't prevent kids from using any exit yeah I was G to say right now so for can you use the mic sorry for security purposes um we do have students come in way but when they exit there are multiple exits that they are allowed to use some they are not right depending on portions of the building but they're allowed to go out this front door which if you're living on this side of town gives you access to that side of town they're allowed to use the side door which kind of allows for pick up a little bit and then they can also use that back door so we are currently doing that right now they don't all go out the same way for security purposes they come in one way so we can monitor who is entering our building but they're allowed to leave through a very yeah we don't stop them from going out a door right right and teachers have extra help one thing I didn't mention um really teachers have extra help after school um so there's there is a trickle out to to a degree yes no no it the we would design the schedule so that um it fits in um the building of the schedule is complicated I don't want to get into it but you know we have mostly High School teachers and mostly Middle School teachers but some people cross over like PE teachers teach band teacher we only have one you know so we have to make sure that the schedules align but if we can do so intelligently with a staggered it doesn't affect student time for lunch or things like that yes um I was just going to ask about like any academic concerns with the transition for the fifth grade you mentioned the switch to quarters which from trimester and quarter I don't see as being much is there anything else that we should U be aware of changing policies as that now in the middle school I don't I don't have any that I've come up with our team has kind of processed this we can't we don't have any kind of academic changes that we see happening it's it's a sixth grade moving from one building to another entering into a a middle school schedule and a middle school building with the Middle School Vibe but academically I don't see any I think this is the good impact um is that that um like a sixth grader being in an elementary school there's something developmentally that I think is more appropriate for them to feel like I'm in a middle school now and things change and I maybe buckle down a little bit more um and and you know hit the books a little bit more um so I'm thinking that's the benefit but I don't see any downside academically yes the question is is if I have a sibling if the if the sixth grader for example has a sibling at Harding can they hang out here [Music] um that's a complicated answer um we don't have any official supervision for children after school hours the library here at brly is open uh Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays for two hours after school for students to utilize um but that's the choice of the student to go to the library um so we can't have students just kind of hanging out in hallways um that's a supervision concern with that said of like dismissal time dismissal time does like the majority of kids leave when the bell rings but there is kind of a I'd say 15 to 20 minute lag of students kind of being in the Halls going to their lockers maybe seeing a teacher for extra help checking in with a club so there is that kind of 20 minutes or so um right now we have students who um do that um and they have siblings and they're kind of just hanging out until they pick up their sibling at Harding um so I can't say for you know firmly your child is welcome to hang out in the in the school building and just be here because we don't have a mechanism for that but it kind of works um it does kind of work yes Wing that new Wing does not have a library so if they choose to go to the library yeah yeah like after school you're saying yeah no not anymore yes currently or in the future both the question is can we control traffic a little bit better due to younger children being present on this campus and you're saying people are how many students are coming from Harding about 100 yeah yeah we so as I said said earlier the school resource officer and the special law enforcement officer are in the back where the kids are generally walking into school um I can talk to the kennworth police department about you know monitoring Monroe for um recess drivers uh for sure um we do put out messages you know at the beginning of the school year advising parents to not drive recklessly um as well as our seniors to not drive recklessly so we can we can step that up for sure and talk to the police um I appreciate that um yeah yeah so shout out to the Ken Police Department by the way [Music] um anytime of parent has reached out to one of us with a complaint about a specific driver um they they hop to it and identify the vehicle and then identify the student or the parent and address it um so if you're seeing like something happen or anyone's seeing something happen that's uh unsafe or putting our youngsters lives in danger please reach out to us reach out to the police and we will deal with that like I don't want anyone getting um harmed because they're walking to school um you know we have to create a safe environment for that so if you're seeing it please let us know um the the model the make the license plate whatever it is what the person looks like and we will do what we need to do that does happen where people contact us and say this person oftentimes it's a student um was zipping through the parking lot uh at an unsafe speed and we can immediately pull their parking pass or address them call their parents give them a school consequence we have those tools or the police can get involved as well um so please let us know yes sir is the choice Program start sixth grade start the choice program is remaining what it is seventh grade through uh 12th grade yes think we do a better job will reduce the number of cars number one and also number two I don't think parents take advantage of the fact that do open up the the school about a half hour prior to I know lots of schools 5 minutes that's when you drop off kids that's when the do open so our doors are open and we have staff staff breakfast here as well as be breakf Middle School cafeteria as well so take advantage of that drop your kids off you know 20 minutes earlier meet that crowd so that's what we're hoping foring also that people will take advantage yeah safest option is to be here early um and avoid all that craziness in the the streets um but yeah this up right yeah this this this cafeteria is staffed um in the mornings uh for those 30 minutes from 7:15 to 7:45 and we anticipate the same thing for the middle school back gym um that'll be staffed for early drop off breakfast um come and you know get some homework done uh we would we would love that uh so please utilize that U but thank you Mr ganella yes yes good question so currently the way David Bry operates is um that back entrance well sorry it's on construction um when that's not under construction that back entrance is where you go if you're a student coming to the building from 7:15 to 7 4 at 7:45 school safety right that door locks and that door is no longer accessible so if you're coming to school late as a student currently you don't go to that back door you go to the front door you buzz in you have to say who you are what you're doing the main office buzzes you in after looking at you on the camera and then you come into the main office and you sign in and so if you're a parent dropping off your child currently now that's the protocol you do not go to the back the back door is locked um you cannot get in um School you have to bring your child to the front that same thing will happen for the Middle School um which is why that driveway exists yep yes so drop your child off up until 7:45 in the back but if your child's running late or they had an early morning you know dentist appointment or whatever drop them off at the front door to the Middle School buzz in school safety sign in all that stuff yes I want to thank you first of all because you're Fielding a lot of questions from us they very like a champ thank you comforting when administrator knows what they're talking about that's number one number two I just want to encourage you all and I think I heard I chuckled a little when uh gentl in the back said that middle schools don't like to wake up and early morning appointments over sleeping if you're going to go on a stagger schedule I would love to see it be the sixth graders that start later kids are dealing with an 8:30 start time that's true it's going to it'll be impactful uh good point yes yes good point uh yeah to go from I mean that's what currently seventh graders had to do but but if we're going to make a change that's the change I understand that yeah um the team is here as well if there's you know things that any Harding questions um the Harding folks are here they gave up their night so I don't want to make them feel like that they're not being asked questions um this is your opportunity um what what what I'm going to do is you know we take lots of notes here we're going to send out um basically an FAQ uh from this night so that parents maybe who weren't able to join us on uh the stream or weren't able to join us in person have an opportunity to kind of read through um these questions and answers um and then in the New Year 2025 we'll be doing a lot more communication out about um all the different protocols and things that'll be happening I mean expect that probably more towards March April May um but we want to make sure again that you feel comfortable with all this thank you for coming um have a good night appreciate your time and if there's any questions that you think of that you forgot on the way home oh I wish I had asked this call send an email reach out uh we're happy to answer thank you everybody