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Schools open more crowded than projected

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Staff

By Rose Laudicina
Staff Writer

Students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools went back to school Monday and, according to district officials, the transition was a smooth one, though enrollment is higher than expected.

Kendall Alston, 5, and her mother, Melinda Alston, walk big brother Jace, 8, to Morris Grove Elementary School on Monday. PHOTO BY ALICIA STEMPER

“Everyone had very positive things to say about the opening day,” Superintendent Tom Forcella said.

“We had a great first day,” Carrboro Elementary Principal Emily Bivins said. “The parents all seemed very happy and the kids came in excited about being here.”

Chapel Hill High School interim Principal Melodie Parrish also said the first day back was a very successful transition into the school year.

“It was just wonderful,” Parrish said. “Parents, students and staff were just superb. It all went very smoothly – the students had their schedules, everybody knew where to go and the hall was clear by the tardy bell.”

While overall everyone was left with positive feelings about the first day back, there were a few anticipated challenges for the district and the schools.

A challenge for the district again this year is the severe overcrowding many of the schools are experiencing, especially at the elementary-school level.

“The biggest challenge for us is that we are just so full,” Bivins said. “We continue to be overcrowded; we just have a lot of kids.”

Class of 2025! Wendy Rigsbee photographs her son, Lucas, as he arrives at Morris Grove Elementary School for his first day of kindergarten. PHOTO BY ALICIA STEMPER

Although the overcrowding is something the schools were prepared for, it is not an issue that the district can solve until elementary school 11 opens in August 2013, meaning that for the current school year working in cramped quarters and learning in over-capacity classrooms is a reality that the teachers, students and administrators are going to have to accept.

According to Forcella, attendance numbers for the first few days of school indicate that enrollment is way above what the state projected – nearly 200 students more than projections.

“Seawell right now is probably the most crowded of all our schools,” Forcella said, “but until elementary 11 opens we just don’t have any space to place the kids.”

To help alleviate overcrowding at Seawell Elementary, Forcella said the district could either move new students to another school in the district that is not as over capacity or they could provide additional staff to help with instruction.

To deal with the extra students attending Carrboro Elementary this year – Bivins said they have around 40 more children this year then last – the school had to create classrooms out of non-traditional classroom spaces, move offices into closet-like spaces and put some resources, like Spanish instruction, on a cart. Additionally, the administration office has consolidated from two rooms to one.

“No one in this school has their own office anymore,” Bivins said. “Everyone is just squished; but we know that it’s only for a year, so we’re going with it.”

Teacher Samantha Howard welcomes 5-year-old Lily Kornegay on her first day of kindergarten at Morris Grove Elementary School. Lily chose to be greeted in sign language. PHOTO BY ALICIA STEMPER

“However, for having a lot of kids, I thought it went really smooth,” she said of the start of the new school year.

The newest challenge the district faces in the 2012-13 school year is the implementation of a new Common Core curriculum. The Common Core standards focus on English, language arts and mathematics and provide students and teachers with a set of expectations and skills that students should master to become college-ready. Forty-five states and three U.S. territories have adopted the Common Core curriculum, but this is the first year the CHCCS district will be implementing the standards.

“This is a year of significant professional training and development,” Forcella said. “We are doing a lot of work to provide a lot of training focused on instruction and Common Core. … This is probably the most intense professional training we have done.”

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