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It was a rare packed house for the Cape Henlopen school board meeting Thursday, March 14. Nearly every seat in Mariner Middle School’s cafeteria was full. The issue on the minds of district residents was not the budget or even the progress report on the new high school.
It was the last item on the agenda – board member Spencer Brittingham’s idea to reconfigure Milton’s elementary schools’ setup.
And just as it was when Brittingham floated the idea to the Milton Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization, residents at the meeting were all opposed. Brittingham’s plan did not get any backing from his fellow board members either. However, he did get a little credit from board member Allan Redden for thinking outside of the box.
Milton has two elementary schools - H.O. Brittingham and Milton Elementary School - each with grades kindergarten through five. Brittingham wants one school with kindergarten to second grade and another with third to fifth grade, which would mean most children would start at one school and finish at the other. He is concerned that some parents are using school choice to take their children out of H.O. Brittingham, a commendable school under state ratings, to Milton Elementary, a superior school.
Those moves are doing the schools and children a disservice, Brittingham says. Taking students who perform well out of the lower-rated school will lower that school’s scores further, he said. But Brittingham is also worried that parents may be trying to move their children out of H.O. Brittingham for other reasons. At H.O. Brittingham, nearly two-thirds of the students qualify for free or reduced cost lunches. At Milton Elementary, only one-third qualifies.
Brittingham said a mother had called him complaining that she was not allowed school choice in order to remove her child from a class with a Hispanic student who struggled with English. “That led me to question why parents want to choice a first- or second- grader from one elementary to another. A lot of questions to the negative came up,” said Brittingham. Looking over the crowd, he said, “I would definitely say Milton Elementary parents are against the idea. But, I have not gotten input from the other Milton schools yet.”
Parents mobilized quickly against Brittingham’s idea. Sharon Davis, mother of a second grader who attends Milton Elementary School, put surveys in the mailboxes of Milton Elementary School teachers last week. She spoke to the board and told them 48 of the 50 teachers who returned the surveys wanted to keep the configuration as it is now.
She told the board consolidating grades would be harmful to children. “As a registered nurse with a focused education in pediatrics, I can tell you that children respond best to routine, schedules and familiar surroundings and people. There are still occasions when my second-grader forgets the direction of the bathroom or office,” Davis said.
Milton Elementary School teachers, according to their anonymous surveys, and district Superintendent George Stone said reorganization could affect test scores. Grouping the children together would create units of minority students large enough to warrant state surveillance through testing.
“Our recommendation is not to do it at this time, just from pure accountability purposes. Combining cells will get one school, maybe both, under academic review,” said Stone. Groups, or cells, of minority students must hit a certain number before the state examines their test scores collectively. Stone recommended increasing resources for H.O. Brittingham to help increase scores.
None of the board members supported Brittingham. Board member Noble Prettyman said he had raised the same question of why there are two elementary schools about a mile apart multiple times over several years. “At this time it is utterly ridiculous. We’ve spent thousands on two schools. It’s too late to change it now,” said Prettyman to loud applause from the audience.
While no other member called the idea ridiculous, they said it was best to leave the issue alone. “Why mess with success? There is no reason to change the configuration or discuss this,” said board member Gary Wray. He said parents and teachers seem satisfied with the current set-up. Responding to community angst over the idea and the many emails he received from concerned parents, Wray emphasized that board members are free to float their own ideas, but that individuals do not speak for the board as a whole.
But board member Allan Redden praised Brittingham for raising new ideas. “I want to applaud Sgt. Brittngham for thinking outside the box. If we don’t come up with ideas, what good are we as a board? I give him a lot of credit for going into the lion’s den,” Redden said. Parents in attendance applauded that remark as well.
But, Redden said the school configuration is just fine as it is.
Brittingham did not say if he plans to try to bring the plan back to the board again.
Contact Leah Hoenen at leah@capegazette.com
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