Benefits of a single campus at Neelyville

To The Editor:

It is very gratifying to see that so many patrons in the Neelyville R-IV School District have our students' educational progress and well-being as a priority even amongst the throng of differing opinions. My greatest hope is that, whatever the outcome of the voting on April 3, that we can accomplish in the future the ability to work together to continue to make improvements for the benefits of our students; and ultimately, for our community and society in general.

It is not my goal today to discuss fiscal details regarding the issue as there has already been extensive information provided. Instead, as the High School Counselor, I would like to relay some of the positive impacts which would promote academic success a single campus, wherever located, could afford our kids in Grades 7-12.

We pride ourselves at Neelyville High School in striving to tailor the Master Schedule each year to meet the various individual needs of our students. This necessitates significant revision of the Master Schedule each year. As just one example of many, this spring Ms. Smoot has advised me there are several upcoming 9 graders who excel in Choir and who are also integral members of the Lady Tigers Basketball Team. Currently the classes are offered the same hour. Of course, this presents a dilemma…. Ms. Smoot is available to our students in Grades 7-12 two hours daily. Due to driving time to Hillview, scheduling, etc. it is necessary to schedule the two hours provided by Ms. Smoot consecutively. This limits the options available for moving classes in order to facilitate specialization of the schedule. Were all of Ms. Smoot's classes on the same campus, the scheduling could provide for more flexibility and thus help to meet the students' needs. There are similar instances involving Coach Sumrall who teaches Physical Education across all grade levels on both campuses.

Reading is highly encouraged to all students in Grades 7-12. Through collaboration, our Library Medial Specialist--Mrs. Truelove and the Communication Arts/Social Studies Teachers do an exemplary job in this promotion. The difficulty arises in that Mrs. Truelove is required to be on the Hillview Campus in addition to her duties at the Neelyville Campus. This situation produces the unavailability of the Library Media Center for students in Grades 7-12 various hours of each day and all day one day of each week. This is often an obstacle for teachers in providing all the resources possible for class presentations, etc. and for students in checking books and in completing various class projects.

There is limited space on the Neelyville High School Campus. Currently, Coach Becky Hale who teaches Health does not have an assigned classroom and is required to move to empty classrooms some of which are vacant of students due to another teacher's prep. This eliminates having all the Health resources in one area which can only have a negative impact on the quality of instruction. Frequently, these same vacant rooms have to be utilized for presenters from colleges and other outside agencies. During those times, the Health classes are misplaced and may have to be held in the gym. Not only is Coach Hale and the Health students deterimentally impacted but also the teachers on prep. This disallows DAILY the use of their regular assigned classrooms during prep to prepare for class presentations, to grade papers confidentially, etc. Thus, the students of these teachers are also denied the full measure of preparation, etc. by their teachers.

While it could potentially never be completely eliminated in a small district, the current buildings available at Neelyville necessitate that junior high students have academic classes in the same hallways as some of the high school students. Yes, the new additions would still allow interaction between the different age levels but it would be less than now.

As the High School Counselor I have no assigned, consistent area in which to work with larger groups of students. Again it is necessary to use vacant rooms of teachers on prep. It also presents difficulties for longer projects such as administering testing. Various tests typically consist of more than one class period so multiple classes have to be reassigned to alternate settings so I can have adequate space for testing.

While we do well with the facilities we have available, there is great anticipation and optimism about the potential success for our students new facilities could nurture. The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities provides the NCEF Resource List: Impact of Facilities on Learning which includes the following:

-The Impact of School Facilities on the Learning Environment (Vandiver, Bert: Dissertation, Capella University, 2011). "The results of the data analysis findings indicated that quality and educational adequacy of educational facilities were statistically significantly associated with student performance…"

-The Effect of School Construction on Test Scores, School Enrollment, and Home Prices (Neilson, Christopher and Zimmerman, Seth: IZA: Institute for the Study of Labor, Nov. 2011). "This paper provides new evidence on the effect of school construction projects on home prices, academic achievement and public school enrollment". "….by six years after building occupancy, $10,000 of per-student investment in school construction raised reading scores for elementary and middle school students by 0.027 standard deviations".

-Improving Student Achievement and School Facilities in a Time of Limited Funding (Cash, Carol, Twiford, Travis: The Connexions Project, 2010). This paper provides a vast amount of data "regarding how the learning environment can improve student performance" and has "consistently confirmed that the physical environment impacts the learning environment and student achievement".

-Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes (Schneider, Nov. 2002)

Schneider states, following the review of extensive research, "Clearly, there is consensus that newer and better school buildings contribute to higher student scores on standardized tests".

Though not feasible in a large district, Neelyville R-IV School District is small which allows for maximization of academic and instructional resources on one campus. My priority is not the location, but the accomplishment, of the single campus facilities. We cannot ignore:

There is a need for more space and better facilities NOW.

There is a viable proposal NOW.

There is an avenue to obtain the needed funding NOW.

Interest rates are lower than typical NOW.

We have precious, important kids in the Neelyville R-IV School District NOW.

Changes NOW would last into the FUTURE.

It is time to stop talking and to act. While certainly not the perfect solution: The only active, producing change and improvement option available is to vote YES for Proposition K.I.D.S. on April 3, 2012.

Thank you for this opportunity to share.

Debra Parish

Neelyville High School Counselor