Learning
One campus provides all students grades TK-5 access to a comprehensive school library, VAPA classroom resources and additional access to robust enrichment/intervention opportunities. One campus also provides additional opportunities for cross-age peer mentoring programs. “Buddies” programs provide intentional lower grade/upper grade academic and social interactions to foster relationships, leadership opportunities, and role models. Additionally, having all teachers at one school site will increase staff collaboration. Teachers can professionally engage in systematically tracking the development of students over long periods of time by actively sharing strategies and awareness of student strengths and needs as they progress through school. Staff will also be able to engage in more seamless and spontaneous dialogue related to curriculum and programmatic articulation. One campus will provide students and staff an opportunity to have an administrator on site at all times. This is a critical component for school safety (student supervision), and for providing consistent and timely support to students and staff. Administrators will also be able to increase the frequency of classroom visits; a critical component to ensuring that our schools are providing high quality teaching and learning environments.
Safety and Supports for Students
Village Elementary School has dedicated space, specifically designed for TK/K students, in the 700 Pod. This building has age-appropriate restroom facilities and instructional spaces meet or exceed the State requirements for Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten classrooms.
Special education supports will be enhanced. Split teaching assignments, where one special education teacher manages a caseload at more than one school site, historically have not been successful. Having all special education services and providers on one campus ensures the full continuum of supports for our students with disabilities. Inclusion opportunities are maximized on one campus as well as the availability of “pull-out” or “self-contained” services. Special education students, who typically are most impacted by transitions, will have only one transition to elementary school.
Social/emotional counseling support services are currently divided between the two sites. In the one-school model, students would have consistent access to academic, behavioral, and social/emotional supports, including full-time counselors on site. The current recommendation is to maintain the same level of support by Clinical Counseling and ERMHS. The one school model is aligned with Sanford Harmony, one learning community that builds a strong sense of belonging and connection.
One campus will also positively influence the social/emotional well being of students by having students endure only one transition into the public-school system. In addition, students with siblings will benefit from family supports on one campus as families will have all elementary children at one site. For our families with multiple children this will also help reduce sibling care costs and ease the logistics of drop off and pick up.
One campus will ensure that there is consistent campus security and that all emergency preparedness protocols are followed with fidelity.
The Coronado Police Department has conducted a traffic impact study and has provided recommendations to staff on how to mitigate increased traffic around VES during drop-off and pickup. These recommendations will be included in bell schedule planning, including specific grade-level designated drop-off and pick-up locations, times, and systems.
Financial
Two separate school sites leads to staffing redundancies and inefficiencies. From preliminary analysis, CUSD anticipates saving about $450,000 per year through a reduction in staffing. Any savings that come as a result of reduced staffing will be through natural attrition of staff who resign or retire from the District or from the elimination of currently contracted services with outside agencies that could be condensed or discontinued.
The District anticipates the ability to generate additional revenue through increased enrollment in our Crown Preschool program. Through discussions with community members as well as our neighboring military staff, we are aware of child-care needs that currently exist in Coronado that we believe we can address through the use of the ECDC facilities.
While the fiscal impact on this initiative has yet to be determined, it is clear that one-time costs for moving and preparing facilities will be incurred.
Estimates for both listed below:
Timeline
In order to assure a smooth transition and proper planning time for both initiatives (moving TK/K and identifying program/service in existing space), staff recommends execution of this proposal in three phases. * Please note, these are not exhaustive lists but examples of how we will structure and coordinate the move.
Phase 1 (Spring 2019-Spring 2020) includes preparing the 700 Building and other facilities at VES for the TK/K program and students, calibrating enrollment and staffing, and establishing the committee to study future use of ECDC . Phase 2 (Summer 2020) includes the physical move of equipment and furniture from ECDC to the 700 Building at Village Main. Phase 3 (Fall 2020) includes the rollout of new logistical systems (drop-off/pick-up), opening the school year with staff and students at Village main campus, and starting new programming at ECDC.
Upon approval, the Superintendent will provide monthly updates to the community and Governing Board on the progress of the relocation proposal.