We guess PW has to earn her keep somehow - what better way than to be vauge and to not tell the whole story. We're sure she learned from the best (the one's who hired her, of course). This makes no mention of the dangerous traffic situation or the continuing distraction of the "renovations".
Younger students enjoying benefits of high school
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Fourth- and fifth-grade students officially have moved from Grandview Elementary School into what used to be Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.
Paul Hubert and his classmates feel like they've reached the big leagues.
The fifth-graders are enjoying going to the "big school" - the high school building in Morrisville.
"The thing I like is that it's big. You have more room, and the gym, auditorium and cafeteria are all separate. The classrooms are bigger. It's fun, because I get to see my high school friends, too," said Paul.
Fourth- and fifth-grade students officially have moved from Grandview Elementary School into what used to be Morrisville Middle/Senior High School. Now they're part of Morrisville Intermediate School for grades four through eight, and share a building with Morrisville High School students in grades nine through 12. The building contains 554 students this year.
Fourth- and fifth-graders enter through a back door near the administration offices. Because they are kept in separate hallways from grades six and up, they don't run into older students during the school day. Going anywhere outside the classroom means lining up in single file and following a teacher.
Fourth-grader Mackenzie Wetherill's not too keen on being chaperoned to the bathroom, but that's a minor annoyance compared to the excitement of being in a bigger school.
"Getting lockers is cool. The library and gym are a lot bigger," she said with a smile.
Students in higher grades don't feel a difference.
Elementary students were first displaced after a furnace explosion in December 2008 made M.R. Reiter Elementary School unusable. Over the next few months, elementary students were split between Grandview, which is the district's other elementary school, and the high school.
Fourth-grade teacher Summer Branche is happy to have found a home in a large classroom after multiple moves, including being in a modular unit on Grandview property and a makeshift classroom in the high school library.
"I love it here. There's a different vibe," she said. "The move was tough because of all the construction, but everything came together. The kids are very excited to be here."
The entire building was renovated this past summer with asbestos abatement, new windows and updated heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems. The hallways look clean and polished, and sunshine glimmers into classrooms.
A bit of minor work is left, said Principal William Ferrara, who oversees grades six through 12. The library has some ceiling tiles missing where wiring has to be finished, and contractors are completing some ventilation work after school hours. With most students studying in their classrooms or in resource rooms, the hallways are quiet.
Among other changes, the library has computers so students can use both electronic and print resources for research.
Also new this year, grades seven and eight are sharing teachers. Teachers really get to know students and their needs when they work with the same ones through two years, said Ferrara.
"Our teachers are phenomenal. They make my job and Laurie's so much easier," he said.
Laurie Ruffing, the principal for grades preK to five, took over elementary school principal duties last year. She spends half a day at Grandview, where space has been freed up for grades pre-K to three.
"The impact hasn't been felt so much here," she said of the school. "I don't think of (being responsible for students in two buildings) as a challenge. The buildings are so close. I think of it as being spread out, giving people more space."
First-graders are still in well-appointed, temperature-controlled modular units attached to the main building. The modulars now have dedicated rooms for music, special education and emotional support programs.
"We've heard some concerns from parents about moving the grades, but there hasn't been a problem," said Ruffing. "I can also depend on Bill (Ferrara) and Norma Wingate, the dean of students, to help."September 20, 2009 2:20 AM-->
The following are the comments from the bcct regarding the above article:
Concerned Taxpayer, 09-20-09, 2:32 pm Rate: 0 Report
Hats off to the Morrisville School district's new Communication's Director for putting a positive spin on the dangerous situations going on in the Morrisville School District and attempting to make the actions of the current school board majority look good. After all that’s the one and only reason this person was hired for $25K that could have been used for a number of much more important and necessary positions including another crossing guard for all the traffic problems this whole mess has created, or a few instructional aide positions that were never refilled after former aides resigned, all in the name of saving the taxpayer a few dollars.
I’m glad to hear that some of the younger students like being in the High School but I can’t help but point out that there was nothing included in the article about how parents feel about what’s going on other than a comment by Miss Ruffing that they’ve heard some concerns from parents. I would think that adults who read the BCCT would be much more interested in the parents’ perspective rather than the fourth and fifth graders happy thoughts. I think there should be another article dedicated to what the parents of this district think about all this. I can tell you it would not be nearly as positive but it would be truthful. Isn’t that what should be made known to the public??
False Profit, 09-20-09, 3:19 pm Rate: 0 Report
Right on, CT. My thoughts exactly.
It's very disappointing to hear this "everything's fine" stuff, especially from Mr. Ferrara and Ms. Ruffing.
Ruffing said, "We've heard some concerns from parents about moving the grades, but there hasn't been a problem."
That's infuriating, and dismisses and invalidates legitimate concerns raised by parents, students, and others.
Ferrara and Ruffing owe their jobs to the current Board majority, which has proven itself to be vindictive, so I can understand some reluctance to be completely candid. But I, and I'm sure many others in town, don't expect or appreciate having smoke blown up our butts, either. I've heard and seen many things contrary to this puff piece.
Beth M., 09-20-09, 7:59 pm Rate: 0 Report
Perhaps it would be helpful to contact Kate Fratti about this situation. She has been quite frank in the past about the goings on in the Morrisville School District. She sees these situations for what they really are. She is able to filter out the fluff and get to the matter of things. Perhaps she would consider doing an article using the parents concerns.
Beth M., 09-20-09, 8:27 pm Rate: 0 Report
It concerns me that a reporter could have been able to talk to children without a parent being present or without parental approval. If this was the case, this is a serious situation. I am very surprised by this article from Manasee Wagh. I usually enjoy her articles because she isn't one sided, she sort of takes the middle road and lets the article speak for itself. This however is very different. I don't believe I have ever read an article from her like this one.
Sadly, this article talks about how a couple of children like being shifted into the Morrisville High School without even suggesting that these same children and many others could have serious problems because of this move into the "big school" with all that implies, that could follow them their entire school career and beyond. But concerns weren't even discussed. I would like to think that the new PR person did not have a hand in the writing of this article, but I do not live under a rock, its pretty clear she did.
Are we now letting the children make the tough decisions concerning their education?! I certainly hope not. No amount of fluffing (like this article) could ever make what is going on in Morrisville okay. Sadly, I voted for these school board people because, although I was in favor of building a new school, I believed it was not in the best interests of the young ones and the teens to be in the same building. I will not be voting for them this time around because I still do not believe it is in the children's best interests to be educated in the same building.
This school board has just become more in a long list of "the same" as far as Morrisville is concerned. They boasted about not liking the tactics of the old school board only to become the same way themselves. My advice is to keep voting people out until we get it right. Remember they may all be volunteer, but they chose to "work for you". If you do not like what they are doing, do not continue to hire more of the same. I believe the newer group running for school board deserve a chance to prove they are not just more of the same. As far as the others, the ones that include Mr. Stout, they have been around long enough to already have proven to me that they are just more of the same. Even those who think they are long-time concerned residents cannot possibly believe they belong on a board as important as the school board.
