010912: Table Top Discussion to focus on proposed school building configurations

  • By Sharon Haught
  • December 29, 2011
  • 311
                        
Summary: With recommendations for possible school building reconfigurations in hand, the Wooster City School District will seek input from the community at a Table Top Discussion on Jan. 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Media Center of Wooster High School. As the extensive facilities optimization process undertaken by the Wooster City School District continues to moves forward, the district is seeking input from the community on possible building configurations. On Jan. 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Media Center of Wooster High School the district will hold the third in a series of Table Top Discussions during which members of the community will be asked to share their views on three possible building re-configuration scenarios developed by the district. During the Board of Education’s December meeting district representatives put forward three possible building configuration scenarios, all three of which call for moving eighth grade into Wooster High School. The first scenario calls for grades eight through twelve to be housed at the high school with Edgewood Middle School housing fifth through seventh grade. Cornerstone and three other elementary schools would house kindergarten through fourth grade students and two of the district’s elementary school buildings would be closed. The second scenario also calls for the high school to house eighth through twelfth grade students and the middle school to house fifth through seventh grade students. However under the second scenario Cornerstone would become a third through fourth grade building and three other elementary school buildings would house kindergarten through second grade students. Under this scenario two of the district’s elementary school buildings would also close. Under the third and final scenario the high school would also house eighth through twelfth grade students and the middle school would also house fifth through seventh grade students. However Cornerstone would become a dedicated kindergarten through first grade facility and three of the remaining elementary schools would house second through fourth grade students. This scenario also calls for the closing of two of the district’s elementary school buildings. According to the district’s Director of Business and Community Affairs David Kocevar in addition to looking specifically at these three proposed configurations community members will also specifically be asked to share their thoughts on eight grade being moved to the high school and fifth and sixth grade being moved to the middle school as well as the variety of primary school arrangements. The community input session will utilize the same World Café model used by the district in September to obtain feedback on the results of the study of the condition of the buildings that make up the Wooster City School District by the Facilities Optimization Committee and in November to review the results of the district’s review of educational literature on a wide variety of possible building configurations ranging from grade level buildings to neighborhood schools. During the focus group session, participants will work in small groups and focus on responding to the proposed configuration scenarios and the more general questions about the use of the high school and middle school. At the conclusion of the small group discussions, each group will prepare a summary of the feedback provided by the participants. All of these summaries will be reviewed by district officials and posted on the district’s web site. Other questions posed by the participants will be collected, in writing, at the end of the evening as well. Those wishing to take part in the Jan. 11 Facilities Optimization Table Top discussion should RSVP by calling 330-988-1111, extension 1264. For more information on the district’s facilities utilization activities visit the district’s home page at www.woostercityschools.org and click on the Facilities Optimization link.


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