In anticipation of a March 12 vote that will decide the town’s new elementary school configurations, Saugus’ school committee held a final forum Thursday to answer questions from parents and teachers about the administration’s current reconfiguration plans.
First proposed after Saugus voted to restructure the district in June of 2017, an initial solution consolidated grades pre-K through second grade at Veterans Memorial Elementary School and grades three through five at Belmonte Middle School.
A 2019 proposal included second grade in the move to Belmonte.
Superintendent David DeRuosi explained to the crowded Town Hall auditorium that the present configuration came to fruition after officials consulted with Tappé Architects, a firm that specializes in designing schools, which made adjustments to the original proposal during a building walk-through.
“It really came down to available space,” DeRuosi said.
Originally the idea was to allocate 10 classrooms per grade, providing the district with room for growth. However, the Veteran’s school currently has only 28 full-size classrooms, while Belmonte has 48.
To keep the plans as they were would require extensive renovations to the Veteran’s, something DeRuosi argued was a less practical route due to the building’s lack of space for additional parking or playgrounds.
He added that, because of the Veteran’s current setup, any addition to the building would face an existing wing, limiting the amount of natural light to new classrooms.
“The Belmonte does have the capacity for four grades,” he said. “It also has room for new play areas … and the building also has the true space for the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) wing that would benefit the upper elementary students.”
Following DeRuosi’s presentation, several parents and educators continued to voice concerns, with some arguing the new configurations would fail to provide younger students with optimal learning conditions.
In a letter she read to the school board, second grade teacher Christin Schulze expressed her worry that the move would be placing Saugus second graders in the wrong developmental bracket.
“Pre-K to grade two is laying the foundation for everything our kids need to be successful in third grade and beyond. If you research early childhood education, you will see it encompasses pre-K through grade two,” she said. “(Saugus’ second grade teachers) feel that if we’re not in the same building to plan, share resources, and suggestions about teaching and assessing students, we are doing our students an injustice. Their foundation will no longer be solid and our students will not be as successful as we know they could be.”
Schulze finished with a final plea to the superintendent.
“We ask that you consider these important factors when making your decision,” she said.
In a later interview with The Item, DeRuosi further addressed teacher reservations about the move.
“There is a genuine concern (whether the second graders) will be socially and emotionally ready to be in the two through five,” he said. “What I’m hearing from teachers is there is some linkage to the curriculum that will be lost.”
DeRuosi said he understands the worries and will continue to meet with teachers before Thursday’s vote to discuss a solution with the least impact to students.
Regardless of how final configurations fall, the superintendent said the town could expect the transition to be entirely completed by September of 2021, a feat he assured teachers and parents they should be proud of.
“You will have redistricted your entire community in less than four and a half years,” DeRuosi said, adding later: “There are a lot of anxieties, there are a lot of concerns, and our job is not to make them worse. Our job is to make a decision and then do what’s right for kids and teachers.”
Written plans for the new proposal will be available for viewing on the Saugus Public Schools website by early next week.
