Team Ferndale : Ferndale Elementary Schools To Merge
Story by Ingrid Sjostrand
A COMMUNITY THAT LEARNS TOGETHER, builds a stronger and smarter connection; this is the philosophy behind the Ferndale elementary merger that will be fully transitioned by the 2016 – 2017 school year.
Currently, Ferndale runs three separate elementary schools: Roosevelt, Coolidge and JFK. In 2012, the Ferndale School Board developed a strategic plan to eliminate some of the district’s issues, and merging the three is one of the biggest steps. The plan was developed to create a set of long-term goals for the community based on three pillars, which are explained by Ferndale Superintendent Blake Prewitt.
“First was achievement, which means everything in the school district should be about student achieve-ment; second was sustainability – you can’t do anything unless you are financially stable, and the third pillar was equity,” he explains. “This District has a long history of segregation and not necessarily being equitable between Caucasian and African American and upper and lower socio-economics.” The elementary schools will be restructured, with Roosevelt Elementary housing kindergarten through second grade and John F. Kennedy Elementary teaching third through fifth grade starting in the 2016 -2017 school year. The sixth grade will move into the Ferndale High and Middle School building.
Prewitt says there were many reasons for the merger, one of the biggest being that none of the elementaries were anywhere near capacity. “It was pretty easy to figure out that with our population we didn’t need three buildings,” Prewitt says. “We could fit probably 700 to 800 more students into each building than what we had, so we really needed to go down to two buildings.” Jodi Mackley Berger is a Ferndale resident of over 20 years and has two sons at JFK elementary. She sees the merger as wholly positive.
“No longer will there be the total economic discrep-ancy between the two buildings. Many of us who live in Ferndale see equity as a significant factor in life!” Mackley Berger says. “We are now ‘One Ferndale,’ and the kids won’t see one school as the haves and the other as the have-nots.” Community feedback has been a huge factor in the strategic plan and the merger, according to Prewitt.
“We talked to our high school students about their elementary experience being separate, and they pretty much unanimously said that once they got to seventh grade and middle school they learned about these other kids and could create these really good friendships. We thought, ‘Why couldn’t we have done this earlier?’” he says. “We are a small enough community that there’s no reason to keep it separate.” This is the mindset Mackley Berger has taken too –bringing students together earlier will only build better relationships. Many supporters of the merger have cleverly termed it “Team Ferndale.”
“Students will get to know each other before middle school since being in the same buildings K-5, special education services will be more equitable, rather than being focused in one building,” Mackley Berger says. “The best result, I predict, will be kids from all parts ofthe Ferndale district being friends from Pleasant Ridge, Ferndale, Oak Park and Royal Oak Township.”
There has been some negative feedback too, mostly from parents who worry it will disrupt their child’s learning experience. Prewitt ensures parents that the transition will be easy for students and a lot of work has been done during the 2015/16 school year to ensure a smooth change.
“We’ve done concerts together at each building, having students meet the principals; the principals have been going to PTA meetings at both buildings to make sure the parents know them,” Prewitt says. “We will be doing a big event in August in the build-ings for all the new students, kindergarten will do a ‘jump start’ where they come four days early so they can all get to know each other and get to know the teachers.”
He also says not as many students will be moving as some perceive. With Coolidge closing, the fifth and sixth graders are going to the middle school and the third and fourth grades are all going to JFK together. “It’s not like some districts, where kids are leaving their friends,” Prewitt ensures. “This is everyone following so from a kid perspective it’s not going to be that harsh.”
Additionally, he points out that parents and teachers will all be able to work more closely together now too.
“From the student perspective it’s been good and from the parent perspective, especially from parents that thought one building was looked down upon over another, being able to get rid of that perception is great,” Prewitt says. “For the teachers to be able to work with their colleagues in the same grade level so that they are working on teaching the same curriculum and working on teaching the same kids, it’s very positive.”
Mackley Berger has attended all the Strategic Plan meetings and has an educator’s perspective too. She is currently an English teacher at Avondale schools, and has worked in education for over 20 years.
“I am really happy to have been on the board of CLEAR, a parent activist group, because we spent over one year working to foster transparency and get progressive school board members elected,” she says. “I see this great change as being a precursor to the Team Ferndale merger.”
Cambridge International Curriculum
Another major transition as part of the Strategic Plan is the implementation of the Cambridge International Curriculum in Ferndale schools. There are two major international programs: Cambridge and the International Baccalaureate (IB). The School District chose the Cambridge program due to its flexibility and the ability to mold the program to a district’s needs, according to Prewitt.
“With Cambridge, we can look at what’s a good fit for the district and look at some of the things the M-Step is testing and try to make sure we align properly with the state, as well as looking at what’s already going well achievement wise,” he explains.
Only some of the plan will be incorporated into the elementary; it will play a bigger role in middle school with the Cambridge science, English and math curriculums in place. Ferndale’s current open classroom program will stay a part of the elementary structure as well.
“Being an educator for over 20 years, I can honestly say that Ferndale schools are great!” Mackley Berger says. “The open classroom philosophy in our elementary schools is far more engaging and college-preparatory than traditional classrooms, and many people are excited about the new Cambridge Curriculum being incorporated in all of our buildings too.”
Overall, the implementation of the merger and the Cambridge International curriculum are in place to create a more unified Ferndale and while some have left the district due to the changes, Prewitt says overall enrollment is up.
“It’s the first time it’s been up probably in ten years; both in resident population and in school of choice we saw some level of increase,” he says. “I do think it’s the programming changes in elementary and really focusing on trying to bring us back together as a community school.”
Mackley Berger reiterates that Ferndale is already a strong and progressive community, and these changes will only help embrace and support that.
“My favorite part about living and attending school here in Ferndale, is the Ferndale vibe! It’s just a great, down to earth, open-minded, progressive place to live and raise children! We love it,” she praises. “We have a great public library that supports our kids’ learning, we are surrounded by artists and people who value creativity, so many great neighbors. In the future, I see our district as working even more diligently to support our students living near/below the poverty line, and I intend to be part of that.”
If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states united to erectile disfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most essential aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction switch on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.
