FAQ on Potential 6th Grade Move to CES

– Posted January 22, 2025

Why is the District looking at moving the 6th grade back to CES?

In NYS, instructional certification for elementary education is grades pre-k through 6, while secondary education is grades 7-12. This means that our sixth grade follows an elementary school curriculum, even though it is currently housed at our secondary campus. Relocating the 6th grade to CES would get our entire elementary program back on one campus and allow us to better align our curriculum, consolidate our resources, and increase/improve the programming and opportunities we offer our students.

 

Is the plan to close the middle school building?

No. The building will remain open as a school. If 6th grade moves to CES, the second floor classrooms in the middle school that currently house 6th grade will be repurposed.

 

How will former 6th grade classrooms in the middle school be utilized?

Classrooms can be utilized in a number of ways. Catskill CSD would like to increase special education services to bring back students who are attending programs at other schools. These classrooms may also be developed into different types of teaching spaces.

 

Will 7th and 8th grade classrooms/teachers be moved to the high school building?

There is no plan to move the 7th and 8th grade teachers out of the middle school space for core classes at this time. However, it may make sense to move some classrooms to create defined spaces or wings – such as clustering the CTE (Business, FACS, Video Production, etc.) classrooms together.

 

Will 7th and 8th grade students be moved to the high school building?

There is no plan to move the 7th and 8th grade students out of the middle school space for core classes. However, middle school students already travel to the high school to use the shared library space, nurses’ office, English as a new language services, 7th and 8th grade band and chorus, as well as the cafeteria. There are also classrooms used by both middle school and high school students for CTE classes in a shared hallway between the middle and high school.

 

Will teachers travel between the secondary campus and elementary campus?

At this time there would be no need for teachers to travel between campuses. 

 

How are support staff allocated to buildings and/or classrooms?

Teaching assistants and aides are assigned to programs or students related to special education services. They provide direct support to students in the classroom. Monitors are assigned to supervision of students, typically for playground, hallway, and cafeteria monitoring. Sometimes aides may also provide supervision in addition to direct support of students in the classroom. 

 

Will there still be a 5th Grade Moving Up?

There will be a moving up ceremony for when students “graduate” from elementary school and transition to secondary school.

 

Will my child have the same opportunities/instruction at CES as they do at CMS?

Students will participate in the core curriculum and special classes in either building. The goal for 5th and 6th grade is to prepare the students for the rigor and independence of secondary education while still supporting them in a developmentally appropriate way. This would mean transitioning between teachers and classrooms to some extent, learning how to travel in the halls and switch classrooms safely and with growing independence, and helping students develop good habits such as keeping track of assignments, managing deadlines, and completing homework assignments and projects on time.

 

Is there enough space at CES?

When CES was at its largest enrollment it held 946 students. The projected number of students including 6th grade is 650 students. There would be approximately 296 fewer students than when CES was at its largest. There would have to be some classroom movement due to classroom sizes.

 

Would there still be grade-level wings at CES?

At this time the goal is to keep as many grade-level wings as possible.

 

What would the administrative structure look like at CMS?

We have presented to the Board of Education about having one building office on the secondary campus (as opposed to separate offices for the HS and MS). This would include one building principal and one building assistant principal. Having one administration team on the secondary campus would ensure consistent expectations, messaging and programming for the campus. This would still provide the same number of administrators that we currently have on the secondary campus for 95 fewer students. 

 

How would there be smaller class sizes?

Currently there are six elementary certified teachers as well as two certified special education teachers at the middle school for 98 6th grade students. These teachers would be added to the total teachers at CES, which would allow for class sizes to decrease.

 

Is the goal to fire teachers and/or staff?

The goal is never to fire staff. When staff retire or leave we analyze every position to see how it affects our district. We make intentional, thought-out decisions about every position based upon the needs of our students. All positions that have been eliminated have been done through attrition as opposed to layoffs.

 

How would this change impact drop off/pick up at CES?

We have made great strides in improving drop off and pick up, such as redesigning the traffic flow at CES and utilizing PikMyKid. We will continue to analyze our process to improve its efficiency.  

 

Would all the grade levels at CES, including pre-k, still receive specials?

Yes, all students at CES, including pre-k, would still receive specials.

 

Why can’t we use the old Catskill Academy space at CHS for new programming?

We can and plan to. However, the main reason to relocate the 6th grade back to CES is to get our entire elementary program into one building. In NYS, instructional certification for elementary education is grades pre-k through 6, while secondary education is grades 7-12. Relocating 6th grade programs to the Catskill Academy space would still leave our elementary program divided between two campuses.

 

What will relocating the 6th grade CES cost?

Relocating the 6th grade to CES is expected to be cost neutral because we would have the same level of staffing that we currently do and we already have the space we need at CES.