Students work together to ease transitions

An expanded, remodeled Chaney and a new East open in two weeks.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

WILSON AND RAYEN high schools are closed, destined for the wrecking ball. Chaney High School is still around but has been remodeled and expanded.

And a new East High School will open.

There are a lot of feet finding new places this year in Youngstown’s downsizing to two high schools.

With this shift has come concern that turf-minded students won’t find the shuffle so simple and conflicts could arise.

But three students who were part of the transition team created to help ease the shift from three to two high schools say they don’t expect any serious conflicts when school starts Sept. 4.

“I don’t think anything’s going to happen,” said Charles Greer, a member of the team who attended Rayen last year and will be a sophomore at East.

The blend already has a successful start, said Pete Lymber, a dean at Chaney who is coming over from Wilson.

He said the football teams, bands and cheerleading squads have been practicing for weeks.

“The kids have accepted each other, no problem,” he said.

It’s a unique year for 2,300 students and hundreds of staff members. Half of Wilson’s students last year will join students at Chaney for an enrollment of just over 1,200.

The other half of Wilson’s students will join all of the Rayen students at the new East High School with an anticipated enrollment of about 1,170.

There have been concerns that bringing new students into Chaney and mixing Rayen and Wilson kids at East might result in fights and competition for turf.

The school district created a transition team of 31 students, several teachers and a number of parents last year, giving the team the mission of “Making the Peace” in the restructured schools.

Antonio Ford, a former Rayen student and a team member who will be a junior at East, expects everyone will be mainly enjoying the new school.

Justin Kalinay, another team member and a Chaney junior, was a bit less certain.

Things might be “tenuous” at first with incoming Wilson kids. But everything will be fine by the end of the school year, he said.

The team is expected to continue its work into the new school year.

This isn’t the first time the district has merged high schools, said Henrietta Williams, a dean at East.

When South, East and North schools were closed in the 1990s, many of those students shifted to Rayen.

“We had the transition, and it was very smooth,” WIlliams said.

Current efforts

Talk of conflict between students from different parts of the city is part of an old mind-set that hasn’t died out, said Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent.

The district is asking adults to tell their young people that they must learn to work together, and it’s up to the adults “to model that behavior,” she said.

In addition to the work of the transition team, the district had smaller teams of students visiting parks and playgrounds throughout the city over the summer offering anti-violence messages.

They did 26 programs about behavior, Webb said.

“Our business is to educate kids and get them prepared academically and socially. The kids will work together. The kids will come together,” she predicted.

There has been some criticism of the district’s plan to build its new high school on the east side of town and even some criticism of the name.

Some have suggested the school should have been built in a more central location and perhaps be called Central High School.

Webb said there was some discussion among the school board about just having one high school, and, after long deliberations, it was a consensus agreement by the board to renovate and expand Chaney and build a new East. The district already owned the land where East is located, she said.

Open houses set

The district will schedule open houses for both buildings to allow the community to see the schools.

People are just begging to get into East, Webb said. “We’re anxious for them to see it.”

The East and Chaney projects, pegged at about $30 million and $25 million respectively, are part of a districtwide $180 million rebuilding program involving 14 school projects, eight of which are now completed.

Getting the new learning environments is exciting for Youngstown, Webb said, noting this is the first time the district has had so many new facilities at one time.

“I’m excited for the children to be in such a bright, stimulating place,” she said.

The building improvements have had an impact on the community as well, she said, noting a resurgence of property care around the new schools. People seem to be taking more pride in their neighborhoods as a result of the construction, she said.

Delays at East

There was no problem in getting Chaney open, but the process at East hit some delays.

Once the school was built, the district found that the city water line servicing the property couldn’t deliver sufficient water pressure to operate the building’s fire sprinkler system.

The city had to install a new water line, and that delayed the securing of an occupancy permit, said Tony DeNiro, assistant superintendent for school business affairs.

The water issue has been resolved and, after an inspection by the city building department, a partial occupancy permit was granted Friday to allow teachers to get into the building to prepare classrooms and students to register for classes.

Those needing to register should enter the front door and go to the main office, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

DeNiro said a couple of minor construction issues had to be dealt with before a full occupancy permit would be issued, but there will be no problem meeting the Sept. 4 opening day of classes.