Quaker Valley Enrollment: Past, Present, and Future

PAST
When Quaker Valley converted its junior high (grades 7-9) to a middle school, the school district enrollment was 1,808. At the beginning of the current 2010-11 school year, our enrollment was 2,008. This is an increase, K-12, of exactly 200 students. Enrollment during the coming years shows a steady, moderate increase as well.

Below is a chart depicting a 15-year enrollment history of Quaker Valley School District.

PRESENT
Enrollment for the 2010-11 school year is 2,008. Enrollment for the past two school years is the highest in the school district since 1982! Current enrollment of Quaker Valley Middle School is 492 students. This is the highest enrollment in Quaker Valley Middle School/Junior High School since 1984!

FUTURE
The school district makes it a practice to analyze enrollment trends and projections. This is a very important task for planning purposes.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education annually provides enrollment projections to public school districts. Historically, these projections do not accurately portray the actual student enrollment of The Quaker Valley School District. For instance, the table below depicts the significant differences between projected and actual enrollments for the past two years.

Because the Pennsylvania Department of Education projections are not accurate projections, the district routinely employs its own demographer to study enrollment at a much more detailed level. Below are the most recent statistics for middle school enrollment projections for the next four school years. A more detailed study will be conducted in the near future to provide projections through 2020. It is important to note the obvious here ~ projections for 2016 and beyond are not based on live births in the region because those children have not yet been born. As a result, accuracy of those projections will always be suspect.

Projected Enrollments

Keep in mind that these are projected numbers. Historically, enrollment in the school district has exceeded these projected numbers. There is a very unique pattern of enrollment growth at Quaker Valley School District. Over a period of years, each class grows significantly from the time students enter kindergarten.

Closer study of this growth clearly shows that parents are choosing to move to the district based on their perception related to the quality educational program that is provided by Quaker Valley School District. This has been a clear trend for the past decade.

The chart below clearly demonstrates this growth phenomenon. For instance, the Class of 2012 has grown by 66 students ~ an astounding 60% growth in enrollment since they entered kindergarten. This phenomenon always makes enrollment projections precarious and, quite frankly, remarkably unpredictable.

SUMMARY

Quaker Valley School District student enrollment has increased significantly during the past decade. This increase has caused our school buildings to become crowded. The elementary schools were impacted initially, and the renovations of those buildings helped to ease the overcrowded situation. However, the middle school is clearly over capacity and there is a genuine need to increase the number of classrooms within the middle school facility.

The plan to increase the number of classrooms includes building some additional space to the facility such as an auditorium. The current auditorium seats approximately 470 students. That current auditorium space will be converted to classrooms for art, music, technology, family consumer science, as well as general classrooms.

It is necessary to build an auditorium that will seat the full student body (projected to exceed 500 students) and, of course, seating for the faculty and staff (approximately 40 employees) for the purposes of student supervision during any school-wide program.

Of course, the middle school will also host programs such as middle school concerts, drama productions, fairs, and much more.  All too often there has not been adequate auditorium seating for these events for parents, relatives, and community members.

Enrollment increase and additional educational program during the past decade have made this renovation project necessary. In addition, there are numerous infrastructure issues that must be remedied.

District to Lease Anthony Wayne for 2011-12

During their October 26th legislative meeting, the Quaker Valley School Board authorized the administration to lease Anthony Wayne Elementary School from the Ambridge School District for the 2011-2012 school year. The costs will be $4,000 per month plus actual costs of utilities and services such as trash removal. The funds will be taken from the 2010 bond issue proceeds.

School board president Jack Norris said, “We found Anthony Wayne to be an excellent choice when we housed Edgeworth and then Osborne students during the renovations of the elementary schools. We have every confidence that the administration and staff will make the one-year stay at Anthony Wayne as successful and enjoyable a year as each of the elementary schools experienced.

The school district explored several sites including Moon School District buildings and Mt. Galitzin. After visits and analysis by district administration as well as middle school administrators and some middle school staff, the Anthony Wayne site was selected as the best choice to house the students in grades seven and eight during the renovation of the middle school. The renovation is scheduled to start when school closes in 2011 and be completed in time for the opening of the 2012-2013 school year.

The district is still reviewing the needs and some co-curricular activity options, but the district’s analysis has revealed that the seventh and eighth grade instructional program fits in the building. The tentative plan for sixth grade students is to house them together at one of the elementary buildings. In order to make the space for sixth grade curriculum, all the district’s kindergarten students would be housed at the other elementary school during the renovation, which is exactly what was done during the elementary school renovations. The final plans with regard to the delivery of curriculum, co-curricular activities, relocation of students in grades kindergarten and sixth through eighth will be announced after the final decisions and plans are in place.

Superintendent Joseph H. Clapper explained, “Recognizing that housing middle school students and their program is different from that of elementary students, the administration and staff continue to make plans to accommodate the middle school curricular and co-curricular needs for 2011-12. We expect to be able to announce most of those details by the end of next month.”

Why Not Trailers?

Several parents have asked the question, "Why Not Use Trailers?" to house the grade 7 and 8 students during the middle school renovations.  This option was explored, but there are several factors that cause classroom trailers not to be a viable option.

First, there would need to be a considerable amount of classroom trailers in order to house students for classroom work for the entire 2011-12 school year.  In order to deliver the current instructional program to students in grades 7 and 8 there would need to be approximately 25 classroom trailers.

Classroom trailers would only work well at a site where there is a present school facility and enough space to locate the trailers in an appropriate location.  There would need to be additional space for a cafeteria, gym, office, and, of course, adequate restrooms.  Housing classroom trailers at the current middle school site is simply not an option as it is too crowded, and the building would not be available during the renovation process.

Additionally, there must be access to adequate utilities such as electric, waste/sewage, etc. in order to accommodate a large number of classroom trailers.  The site would also need to be developed to ensure proper and safe access for bus and other vehicular traffic.  Providing such a site is not only difficult to find, but the cost of the trailers, the site development, tap-in-fees for utilities/water/sewage, site-work for traffic, and, of course,  the rental of any additional facilities such as an office, nurse,  gymnasium, cafeteria, etc. would make this option extremely expensive.  There would also be significant  issues related to student safety and security.  Finally, zoning would be another major hurdle as a borough or township would have to grant permission for a "classroom trailer park" site.

Student Relocation and Timelines

We have been working diligently to plan for the 2011-12 school year in terms of the likelihood of relocating of middle school students to another site during the upcoming middle school renovation.  Even though the 2011-12 school year is more than ten months away, building and district administrators have already devised numerous preliminary plans relating to schedules, student activities, and safety considerations.

As most folks are aware, the District previously leased Anthony Wayne Elementary School in Ambridge, Pennsylvania during the elementary school renovations.  We are in the process of analyzing this same space to be used for grades 7 and 8 for 2011-12.  Grade 6 would remain in the elementary school with a distinct possibility of housing the entire grade 6 at one elementary site.  This arrangement would call for incoming kindergarten students to be housed at the opposite elementary building.  Note: This is the same kindergarten arrangement that took place during the elementary school renovations.

There are many considerations and details to finalize such as:

• Safety and Security                       
• Transportation                               
• Staffing                                          
• Union Contractual Obligations       
• Travel Time for Students              
• Curriculum Delivery 
• Student Arrival and Departure Times
• Class Level Organizational Patterns
• After School Activities & Sports
• Building Use by Community Partners
• Travel Between Buildings for Staff
• Holiday Concerts & Traditions

Details will be shared as soon as they become finalized.  Our goal is to share as many final details as possible prior to Thanksgiving ~ approximately nine months prior to the commencement of the 2011-12 school year.

Considerations for Relocation of Students During 2011-2012

The board and administration have discussed whether to keep students on the middle school site and “work around them” or to move the students off site during the renovation process.  The best answer appears to be to move the students off site during completion of the renovation.  Moving them off site eliminates the safety risk of “working around the students.” Additionally, keeping the students on-site would increase the amount of time needed to compete the renovation and therefore, substantially increase the costs of the project.

2011-12 school calendar

The 2011-12 school year calendar has not yet been adopted.  It will likely be adopted by the Board in January 2011.  It is very likely that the 2011-12 school year will begin the last full week of August.  The purpose of the early start to the current 2010-11 year was to release students in late May so that 15 month construction period could begin in early June.

For long term planning purposes, it is very likely that the 2012-13 school year will begin after Labor Day to ensure adequate time to finalize the renovation project.

Plan Con A and B Submitted to PDE

The Quaker Valley School District Board of Directors approved that Plan Con A and B be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) at the September 21, 2010 legislative meeting.  When a school district undertakes a major construction project and seeks reimbursement from the state the Plan Con process must be followed.  The Plan Con forms are designed to document a local school district's planning process, provide justification for a project to the public, ascertain compliance with state laws and regulations, and establish the level of state participation in the cost of the project.

Plan Con A - Project Justification - provides the description of a proposed project and justification for its need.

Plan Con B - Schematic Design - a technical review conference of the conceptual drawings, site plan, and educational specifications.  The architect and district administrator who is knowledgeable about the project and the educational program must be present at the schematic design conference.

Welcome to the QVMS Renovations Blog

Welcome to the Quaker Valley Middle School renovation project blog.  Check back frequently for the latest news and updates about the project.