Document text
Central Point schools learn hard truth Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell The stage at Jewett Elementary School has been converted into office space as administrators juggle to find room for classrooms. The office became a special education class. Custodian Adam Seibert keeps the floor clean in the gymnasium, which so far has escaped the juggling game. Overcrowding persists despite district decrease By DAMIAN MANN CENTRAL POINT - Enrollment is down this year in the Central Point School District, but don't tell that to the principal at Jewett Elementary School. With an increase of 25 students, the school has converted storage units into classrooms, the stage into office space and an office into a special education classroom. At the district's eight schools, enrollment has dropped from 4,610 a year ago to 4,497, but some, such as Crater High and Sams Valley, had increases in particular grades, requiring juggling of classrooms and teachers. Jewett Principal Dennis Allen said his school enrollment jumped from 468 to 493 students in the same period, and he has run out of space. "There are no more nooks and crannies," said Allen. "Our speech therapist now has her class next to the ditto machine." The school was eyeing a custodial closet, but a large number of electrical panels made it unsafe for students. Allen joked that the only available space left would be the gym. To keep up with all the new students, the school has added two teachers to create a new first-grade class and a classroom that is a mix of second- and third-grade students . Allen attributes the enrollment increase to new construction near downtown Central Point. Superintendent Candace Manary said her district has been "experiencing some bulges." Crater High School, for example, went from 1,570 to 1,603 students, requiring the hiring of a new math teacher. "It's very tight at Crater," Manary said. Other schools, such as Sams Valley and Patrick, have had relatively flat enrollment but needed extra teachers because a large number of students entered a particular grade. Manary said the district has hired a total of six new teachers to help keep class sizes down. Sams Valley actually dropped from 314 to 311 students, but saw a spike of students in its first-grade class. It also experienced an increase in the fourth and fifth grades requiring a new teacher. However, enrollment dropped slightly in kindergarten and second grade, requiring a bit of juggling of classrooms and teachers. The district was able to offset some of the costs of hiring new primary grade teachers by using extra money from the state to improve early childhood reading programs. Manary expects enrollment to continue to climb through the month of September. Linda Ellebruch, speech therapist for 42 students at Jewett, said it has been difficult getting used to her new quarters in a storage area adjacent the gym. "It's disconcerting," she said. "All my stuff is everywhere." In two weeks, the school plans to build a wall to give the space more of a classroom feel. Ellebruch said the situation is somewhat similar at Mae Richardson Elementary, where a locker room has been transformed into a classroom. Many of the schools in the Central Point School District will get more space and other improvements soon as a result of $29.8 million in voter-approved bonds. Unfortunately, none of the money was planned for Jewett, the principal said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.