Agenda - 01-29-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i LONG-RANGE PLANNING The School Facilities Finance Act of 1987 requires local be more appropriately located in neighborhood centers; boards of education to develop long-range organizational for other districts, these programs might be located on and facility plans.Specifically,the legislation states"lo- the campuses of neighborhood schools. Consideration cal boards of education shall submit their long-range should be given to housing three-and four-year-old chil- plans for meeting school facility needs to the State Board dren as boards of education develop long-range plans for of Education by January 1, 1988 and every five years possible reorganization and new facilities. thereafter."To develop a long-range plan,including effi- cient utilization of existing facilities, priorities for new Boards of education are also encouraged to study the is- construction and renovation,cost estimates,and estimates sue of optimal school size.As with grade structure,local of available resources,a board of education must address conditions may require differences in school sizes,with the following five questions: schools which are smaller or larger in membership than the optimum. • How many schools are needed? •Which grades will they serve? Boards of education are urged to keep abreast of educa- • How many students will they accommodate? tional trends which affect the design of school facilities. •Where will they be located? Center-oriented instruction is being seen in the upper el- ementary grades.Team organization for each grade level •Which students will they serve? in middle schools may vary and elements of center-ori- ented instruction may be present.There is some interest In the 1950's,most rural school systems were organized in dividing the students within a high school into aca- to serve grades 1-12 or 1-8 and 9-12, while schools in demic houses or pods. urban areas were generally organized to serve grades I- 6, 7-9 and 10-12. In recent years, there has been a sig- Boards of education are encouraged, however, to con- ` nificant movement toward a middle school plan of orga- tinue studying this issue and to strive for schools which nization across the state.A typical organization based on are large enough to offer a comprehensive program and the middle school concept serves grades K-5, 6-8 and student services at a reasonable cost, yet small enough 9-12,but organizational patterns with schools for grades to offer a personal,caring atmosphere. K-4,5-8,9-12 or K-6,7-8 and 9-12 are not uncommon. While the movement toward a middle school plan of or- The Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education believe that elementary schools ranging ganization has been substantial,other organizational pat- from 450 to 700 students; middle schools ranging from terns still exist. Alternative plans of organization will 600 to 800 students; and high schools ranging from 800 continue to be appropriate in some communities because to 1,200 students can offer an excellent educational pro- of existing facilities,natural geographic boundaries, the gram,including a comprehensive curriculum.The board sparsity of students, road patterns and travel times and also believes that schools of these sizes can offer the most distances.The Department of Public Instruction and the efficient use of space and personnel at a reasonable cost State Board of Education do, however, believe that a per student without losing personal contact with and three-tier plan of organization which allows a specifi- among students.As with grade structure,school size must tally designed program for students in the middle grades ultimately be determined by factors such as existing fa- is desirable and that a grades K-5,6-8 and 9-12 plan of cilities, areas of population density,natural geographic organization is preferable.The state curriculum and the barriers,road patterns,transportation times and distances, Basic Education Program are designed around this organ- and local preferences. ization. Local boards of education should continue to • evaluate their organizational patterns and work toward The Department of Public Instruction conducts surveys this structure where feasible. for local school systems to help local boards in develop- ing long range plans. Such a survey provides an outside Several school systems in North Carolina now have pro- evaluation of and recommendations for school organiza- grams for three- and four-year-old children. This trend tion and facilities.This service is available without cost is expected to continue and is encouraged. For some and upon request. school districts, programs for pre-school children will 3