PAUL C. BUNN ELEMENTARY School board views floor plans for new building
The board also discussed how a state literacy program has helped pupils.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Plans are nearing completion on the new $10.4 million Paul C. Bunn Elementary School that will be built on the city's South Side.
Tom Matej, an architect with Hanahan, Strollo & amp; Associates Inc. of Youngstown, presented to the board of education several floor plans depicting the layout of the school.
The 68,115-square-foot facility will be built in a loop pattern with classrooms, a media center, a gym and two rooms, one each for art and music, surrounding a courtyard.
The aesthetics include a "noninstitutional" design to fit in with the neighborhood, he added.
Matej said the concept for the one-story building, designed for 527 pupils in kindergarten through sixth grade, takes into account the number of special-needs kids at Paul C. Bunn, many of whom use wheelchairs or other adaptive devices.
All entrances will be accessible to those with disabilities, he said.
The existing building, at 1825 Sequoya Drive, should be vacated this summer with demolition set to begin next fall to make room for the new school, which will go up near that site.
Construction could begin in spring 2006, Matej estimated.
Literacy program
In other business, the board heard a presentation about pupil growth from the district's involvement in Reading First, a state literacy program.
Alida Treharn, district coordinator of Reading First, noted that by the time pupils reach third grade, their minimum reading level ought to be at the acceptable level to prepare them for success in later grades and in life, a school administrator says.
"If we lose children by the third grade, normally they won't catch up," Treharn said.
Treharn noted that Youngstown was one of a handful of districts in the state to receive funding for the literacy initiative, which is being used at Cleveland, Sheridan, North and Williamson elementary schools and is designed for pupils in kindergarten through the third grade.
Reading First is built around standards such as professional learning, comprehensive program design and systematic reading instruction.
Pupils receive uninterrupted reading instruction in 90-minute time blocks.
Teachers at the four district elementary schools with the program in place "are seeing growth. Teachers are noticing that kids are reading better," Treharn said.
She pointed out that pupils are screened during the second and third weeks of school so teachers can quickly identify where a child needs help.
Those considered at-risk are given an additional 30 minutes of instruction; also, intervention specialists are available to help district pupils experiencing difficulties, Treharn added.
Exams
Testing is the largest component of the program, and progress monitoring is done in November and February to prepare the pupils for tests that "raise the bar" on what they need to learn, she explained.
Tests are done on palm pilots, which allows the results of class and individual reports to come back in minutes, Treharn said.
For teachers, the reading program means additional training "on getting the maximum use out of textbooks" and attending conferences and workshops in and out of the district to improve their professional development, Treharn noted.
Treharn said she received a $1.6 million state grant through the federal No Child Left Behind program for Reading First, compared to $915,000 last year.
Part of this year's money is going toward having seven intervention specialists as well as a summer program in the district, she added.
John Terry Allen, ombudsman for school/parent relationships and mediation, gave board members copies of a parent handbook that Superintendent Wendy Webb put together this school year. The 39-page manual was prepared for parents of kids in all grades entering the district, Webb said.
The handbook lists various after-school programs offered and tutoring locations, as well as information on conflict-resolution, guidance and mediation. It also includes numerous community and other resources for pupils and parents who are victims of crime or need emergency assistance.