After Sports Trip Bus Drop Offs Will Return
By Doug La Rocque
Despite what was told to parents and students at the last public information session on the bus route changes impacting the students ride home, those returning from away sports events will have the opportunity leave the bus before it returns to the MS/HS campus. That was announced by Athletic Director Josh Weaver, in a release on Friday, August 30.
School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Young told those gathered prior to last Tuesday’s, August 27 School Board meeting, the practice of dropping of students was being eliminated. He cited what he said where New York State regulations. The district has been dropping off students at pre-set locations for years, and the news did not sit well with many in attendance. Mr. Weaver’s announcement of the change in policy, does have a provision he indicated will be strictly enforced. The student-athlete must have a ride present at the drop off point when the bus arrives, or they will have to stay on the bus until it returns to the school campus. These drop off points will be the Grafton Town Store, the Petersburgh Baptist Church and the Cumberland Farms in Stephentown, depending on which direction the bus is coming from.
This will currently impact Berlin students only. The AD says they will be discussing incorporating New Lebanon students into the program in the coming weeks. The two schools have combined many sports programs, with the remaining teams looking to become one by the next school year.
Why All The Changes?
According to Dr. Young and other school administrators who have looked into this, it is a proven fact that adolescent students do much better scholastically, and have lower absenteeism rates, when they get more sleep. The previous start time for the middle and high school students was 7:05 am, meaning many students had to be ready to catch a bus as early as 6 am. And as most parents will affirm, teenagers are generally not early birds.
Backing up the start time by nearly an hour, and combining the middle and high school afternoon routes with the elementary, they hope will be beneficial to all. The impact on the start and dismissal times at the Elementary School is minimal.
A question raised at all three public information sessions was whether the route changes would put full size buses on roads now often served by smaller vehicles, because of travel conditions. On that question Karen Capozzi, the District’s Business Manager who is also in charge of transportation, answered with a conditional yes. She emphasized student safety is of the utmost concern, and when weather conditions dictate, smaller vehicles will be assigned to transport students to such locations as Weaver Dam Road in Petersburgh.
Test Results Show Improvement
In January of this year, the NYS Education Department identified the Berlin School District as not showing significant scholastic improvement in two areas as students move between grades. These subjects were English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. According to Superintendent Young, the results from the end of the year’s testing show an 8% improvement in ELA and 4% in math. Once identified, however, the school must show two years of continued improvement to be removed from State Ed’s watchful eye. The latest test results were measured on an overall basis, the next round will break the student population into a number of sub-groups.
Where to Run
Because of all the construction going on behind the school for the new athletic fields, portions of the cross-country course have been taken out, forcing the team to do some of its training at Grafton Lakes State Park. The construction also means the team will not be able to host a meet this fall. Also of concern was the degree of difficulty for any new course that might be constructed. Berlin’s was noted as one of the most difficult in Section 2. Superintendent Young asked the Board to commit to hiring a consultant, if necessary, to lay out a new course for next year, that will be as challenging as the previous course was. The Board also gave its permission for the cross-country teams to travel to an overnight pre-state meet in Plattsburgh, once they were comfortable all safety concerns were addressed.
Other Board Business
There was praise from all corners for the work done over the summer by the Building and Grounds Department in getting the district facilities in “such great shape” for the coming school year. The District is still looking for two more educators, bus drivers and substitutes. The Board also approved a new evacuation plan with the New Lebanon School District, as well as a joint sports code of conduct with New Lebanon.