Grade Reconfiguration Study Frequently Asked Questions
As the Spencer-Van Etten Central School District embarks on exploring whether to change the grade levels of its three schools, it has put together some common questions about the grade configuration exploration process and will be adding to this page as more questions arise.
If you have a question or concern that you don’t see addressed here, please send it to sveinfo@svecsd.org.
Grade reconfiguration: What is it and why is it being considered?
The district’s mission is to educate and prepare all students for their best future. Our staff has the passion and ability to fulfill that mission, but under the current grade structure of our schools (PK-4, 5-8 and 9-12), our middle and high school instructional staff are not able to use the full range of their teaching certifications, which limits the number of courses we can offer our students.
The district’s enrollment is declining. This shift in population is causing us to look at whether the current grade configuration best serves our students. We want our students to have the best academic experiences and opportunities possible, and we think there may be a way to enhance our course offerings with more efficient and effective use of resources. We will explore grade configurations at all three school buildings. We are NOT looking to close any school buildings.
Where did this idea come from?
Exploring grade realignment is identified in the district’s strategic plan, which the board adopted in May 2023 as a possible way to maximize staff and resources. The plan was developed with feedback from board members, district staff, students, families and community members and resulted in three priority areas: well-rounded students, the student experience and community connections.
Exploring realigning the grades is an action item in the student experience priority area.
Are you experts at knowing if a grade reconfiguration is needed?
At this point, we have some ideas of what may work to better serve our students, but we don’t know for sure what the right answer is. To help us, we are working with educational consulting firm Castallo & Silky to conduct research into how to efficiently staff SVE schools to better utilize staff members’ areas of expertise.
What happens next?
The superintendent will be visiting each of the schools in February 2024 to talk with staff about the possibility of making a change and to see what questions and concerns they may have to inform the decision that the board of education will ultimately make.
The consulting firm is currently conducting research and is expected to present its findings and make a recommendation on how to move forward to the Leadership Team in March 2024 and subsequently to the board prior to the final discussions. Following that, the district will share the report and consultant’s recommendations on the district website and at staff and community meetings where questions and concerns can be discussed before the board makes any decisions. It’s important that we are all on the same page and that we are moving forward together as we continue to seek out opportunities to innovate, evolve and strive for excellence in all that we do.
If the board decides to change the building grade levels, how quickly could that happen?
If the consultant’s recommendation is to change the grade levels and the board agrees with the recommendation, the change might start at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year if feasible.
Does this study mean the district is looking to close one of its school buildings or merge with another school district?
No, we will not be closing any of our schools or proposing a merger with another school district. We are focusing on if we have the appropriate grade levels within each of our schools to provide the best educational experience for our students.