Full-day pre-K?

Question: Is there any chance of pre-K becoming a full day at B-P?  My daughter will be 4 this March and I would like her to attend pre-K at B-P, however, with it being a half-day program, we will not be able to manage it with our full-time work schedules. With a full-day pre-K, more families would be able to enroll their children, which is beneficial not only for the children, but for the school and kindergarten teachers as the children will be better prepared for kindergarten.

Answer: While I agree with your assessment of the benefits of a full-day pre-K program, unfortunately, at this time, we have no plans to offer full-day pre-kindergarten during the 2013-14 school year because of financial considerations.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, superintendent of schools

Halloween parade in the rain

Question: I think it is great that The Learning Community and intermediate school are planning to hold their Halloween parade together. However, if it rains will they be separate at each school? Is there some way to keep the parade together indoors? High school gym?  Auditorium? How do parents with a child in each school tell them that they can only pick one of their parades to attend?

Answer: If it rains tomorrow afternoon, The Learning Community and intermediate school will hold their Halloween parades together at 1:30 p.m., in the high school gymnasium.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, TLC principal and Dan Casey, intermediate school principal

T.E.A.M. Time schedule

Question: Is there a T.E.A.M. time schedule available to publish on the Learning Community website?

Answer: You can find the T.E.A.M. time schedule on the district website by going to The Learning Community home page. The schedule is linked from the left sidebar. Click here to go directly to the page.
- answered by Michele Kelley, district communications specialist

Comment about the possibility of a half-day kindergarten program

I have serious concerns about the proposal to run a 1/2-day kindergarten program. These students will be put at a huge disadvantage at a time with the state is proposing higher standards and expectations on children in kindergarten. A 1/2-day program will have long lasting negative effects on this district. The children will be less successful readers in 1st grade, which will put them behind for 2nd grade and will lead to lower state test scores in 3rd grade.

TLC morning program schedule

Question: Is there a November schedule for morning program yet?

Answer: We apologize for the oversight. The November morning program schedule should be posted to the district website shortly.
- answered by Terry Lafountain, The Learning Community Principal

Electronic message board in front of TLC

Question: I've noticed that there have been many misspellings on the large sign in front of the elementary school. Is there any way this can be rectified? After all, Broadalbin-Perth is a school and students should learn the importance of spelling words correctly.

Answer: A high school student volunteers his time to maintain the message board in front of The Learning Community. He is given the messages and types them into the system. Although I haven't noticed any misspellings, that doesn't mean there haven't been. And although I agree with you that spelling on this sign is important, I also acknowledge that we all make mistakes -- even adults misspell words.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Where's the TLC newsletter?

Question: The TLC newsletter online is from June 2010. Why?

Answer: The Learning Community did not publish a September newsletter because, prior to the start of school, I sent a five-page letter to all parents that contained the relevant information they would need for the beginning of the school year. The October newsletter is now available on the district website.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Looking for TLC Morning Program schedule

Question: Except for the one time someone asked a question about the TLC Morning Program schedule, it typically seems to be quite late in being posted for the current month. Can this be posted earlier? As mentioned previously, it's nice for planning purposes.

Answer: Because of the holiday break, the January Morning Program schedule was behind, but it is usually on the district Web site by the first of each month. For more information about the TLC Morning Program schedule, click here to read the previous post on this subject. If you ever have questions about the Morning Program schedule, please call The Learning Community office at 954-2650.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

White Community at TLC

Question: Has anyone considered the possibility that calling one of the newly-formed teams at The Learning Community "The White Community" could be misconstrued or offensive to some? Recent public postings include "A performance presented by the White Community" and "White lunch line." I understand the idea behind it, but think a more appropriate choice could be made.

Answer: When the concept of small communities was discussed by the TLC Task Force last spring, the idea of having students name the communities was proposed. Because our timeframe was short, we decided at that point to go with the school's (and country's) colors of red, white and blue. At some point during this school year, we will re-open this dialogue with the teachers and Task Force to discuss the pros and cons of our community names.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Following up on Harcourt

Question: I was trying to post a comment to the Elementary Reading Program question, posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, but was unable to do so. I would like to comment by saying I'm not sure the answer Mrs. LaFountain gave really answers the question by the parent. I believe what the parent(s) are looking to get an answer to is: Since the Harcourt Program demands much higher vocabulary skills, comprehension and writing skills than the current program(s) being taught to our K, 1 and 2 students, what are we doing as a community to help the K, 1 and 2 students' transition easier? Unfortunately, this isn't a one-on-one student concern, this is a whole community concern.

Answer: At Broadalbin-Perth, we have clear expectations about the sequence of skills that our students acquire. Our curriculum defines what kids should know and be able to do at each grade level. Whether our teachers are using Harcourt or any other program in their classrooms, there are going to be higher demands on older kids because that's what's developmentally appropriate. The Harcourt program is simply a tool that we use in our classrooms; it is NOT curriculum.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Let's work together

Question: I was just wondering if there is anyone out there who has anything positive to say about the great things that happen at The Learning Community (formally the primary school). I don't know if any other people outside of the school system have any idea about what it takes to teach young children. I know that the fourth grade is now doing a new program (Harcourt) and it is only the second year. With that program in place, there will certainly need to be changes in ELA K-5. These things take time and discussion, and it has to be decided if that program is really good for children.

I just wonder if any of these people challenging the curriculum at TLC have any clue about children's developmental readiness as they grow and learn. Just as children learn to walk at different times (not all at 10 months) they also master different academic skills at different rates. The TLC program has always catered to those specific needs of the children in our district. As a parent of two children currently in the elementary system at B-P, I am proud of the instruction my children are getting at TLC. The teachers there work hard to keep the curriuculum challenging and rewarding for all children at all their varied develpmental stages. Education should not be a cookie-cutter system, as it seems we are trying to create with this Harcourt program. That does not mean we shouldn't challenge the children, but we do need to consider that even in fourth grade they are not all developmentally at the same level.

I guess with all that said, my question is, to staff and parents, do you think it is time we work together to continue to build upon our current curriculum, or would it be more beneficial to just point fingers at others and create animosity between parents, teachers and the two elementary buildings? It takes a village!!

Answer: Ditto.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

School banking accounts

Question: If a student has an established school banking account from the primary school, can he or she continue banking in the Intermediate and Middle Schools?

Answer: Right now, our school banking program rungs in The Learning Community and the Intermediate School. The program does not run in the Middle School, although running it through our secondary program is a great idea. I will pursue that idea with the PTSO and our secondary principals.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Transition concerns

Question: At the October board meeting it was mentioned in public comment that several fourth graders are struggling with the curriculum because they were not prepared in the primary school for fourth grade. My fourth grader is one of the many that are struggling. What is going to be changed in the TLC to address this problem?

Answer: After that board meeting, members of the district leadership team met with concerned parents and teachers at each grade level in the elementary schools to identify possible problems in the transitions from one grade to the next. The leadership team will work with parents and teachers to address any problems in transitions as they arise.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Elementary reading programs

Question: I attended the Community Roundtable for curriculum and instruction. I learned a lot about how the district handles professional devlopment and other topics. I did not get a chance to ask about continuity in curriculum programs. I guess my question is how the skills taught in the early primary grades are carried through to older grades. For example, kindergarten and first grade use Saxon phonics and in fourth grade students begin using the challenging Harcourt series for reading. What program is used in second and third grade to build on the phonics skills and continue growth in reading to allow students success in the intermediate grades?

Answer: Teachers in the elementary schools at Broadalbin-Perth draw on multiple resources, including several published literacy curricular programs, to provide the best possible reading instruction for our students. Our teachers don't necessarily follow one program to the letter; rather, they utilize the best that each program has to offer to address the individual literacy needs of each child.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

Morning Program schedule

Question: Is there a way to see what is planned for Morning Program at the Learning Community each week? I see that you have a Morning Program link on the district Web site which shows the calendar for one month, but November is yet to be posted. Is there anyway to learn about upcoming months so that I can plan ahead with my work schedule?

Answer: We apologize about the lateness of the posting of the November Morning Program schedule to the district Web site. It was a few days late this month. In general, we try to get it to the district Webmaster before the first of each month.

The Morning Program schedule for the entire year is laid out during the summer, and we try to post the Morning Program schedule for each month at least a few days before that month begins. We don't post it any earlier than that because the schedule changes often and we wouldn't want parents to show up for an event that had been postponed or cancelled.

If you ever have any questions about the Morning Program schedule, you can always call The Learning Community main office.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal

After school program administrator

Question: Which administrator oversees the after school program?

Answer: The Learning Community Principal Terry LaFountain oversees the after school program for elementary students.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

"Social" learning at TLC

Question: My child is at The Learning Community and you spend lots of time in Morning Program, writing songs, and not teaching. I know you say "social" is as important as teaching academics but I want my child to spend more time learning!

Answer: Morning Program at The Learning Community has been going strong for more than 10 years. Currently, the entire school gets together three days a week -- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays -- for Morning Programs.

Morning Program is an integral part of the TLC character education program, which is a requirement of the state education department for children of this age. Character education includes such concepts as citizenship, tolerance, respect and responsibility -- all of which are emphasized at Morning Program throughout the year.

School songs for TLC

Question: I have heard that the Learning Community is having a song written for their building. Can you tell me more about this process and where the idea came from?

Answer: Students from The Learning Community are in the process of writing not one, but three school songs with songwriter Brian Chevalier, or "Mr. C" as he is known by the kids. Mr. C spent time in each classroom, K-2, to help the children write school songs. Three classes in each grade came up with the lyrics and the other three classes worked with Mr. C to come up with the music.

TLC teams and looping

Question: During the TLC open house, it was noted that the school was broken into three teams (red, white and blue). Can you explain a little more about this? Does this mean that children will remain on the same team for each year they are at TLC? Also, are all teachers looping, and does that mean that children will have the same teacher and classmates for grades K-2?

Answer: The Learning Community does have three teams, each of which includes two kindergarten classes, two first grade classes and two second grade classes. Each team will complete two activities together during the year -- a citizenship project and a community service project.

TLC Teacher Web pages

Question: Why are the teacher Web pages on the TLC school Web site so out of date? The old information can be confusing, especially to parents of new students.

Answer: Thank you for pointing this out! We are in the process of removing the old teacher Web pages from the school Web site. Hopefully this resource will be more helpful to you in the future.
- answered by Terry LaFountain, The Learning Community Principal