Sartell-St. Stephen Considers Elementary School Shift [AUDIO]

SARTELL -- The Pine Meadow Elementary in Sartell is bursting at it's seams.  The district's school board has been working on coming-up with a plan to shift some of the students from Pine Meadow over to Oak Ridge Elementary.

Superintendent Joe Hill says they're considering three potential options.

The school board was originally scheduled to make a final decision on realigning the school boundaries at their meeting this Monday.  However, Hill says they wanted more time to study the issue.  Monday's meeting will now be just information.

They've also scheduled public information meeting for March 8th at 7:00 p.m. at Sartell Middle School.

The board is now expected to make it's final decision at their March 21st meeting.

Information from Superintendent Joe Hill:

As you may be aware, our district has been conducting a capacity study regarding Pine Meadow Elementary.  I want to share with you some preliminary information regarding the study to keep you informed and aware of our findings.

The Reasons For The Study:

• To provide appropriate learning environments for all of our students
• To seek equity in class size, enrollment and student demographics at each elementary
• To create a thoughtful plan that addresses short-term solutions within longer range possibilities

What We Know:

• Pine Meadow is over capacity and has had to make numerous alterations to learning spaces to accommodate for the number of students.
• The district is forecasted for continued growth.
• Listening sessions with parents and staff have been valuable in shaping administrative direction.
• We have inequity in class size, enrollment and students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

What We Are Doing:

• We have had, and will continue to have, listening sessions with PME and ORE staff and parents.
• We have, and will continue to gather, attendance and demographic data to guide and inform us throughout the process.
• We will be presenting study information as a report to the Board of Education at our February 28th Board meeting.
• We will host an Information and Input Session on Tuesday, March 8th, from 7:00-8:30 PM at Sartell Middle School for families and staff.
• The Board will take action on this at the March 21st Board meeting.

Overall, we are fortunate and pleased to be in this situation of growth.  We want to keep our district mission at the forefront of this process including inspiring our community to promote the success and development of all of our students.  Outstanding instruction and supportive environment  has been key to success and will continue as we journey beyond excellence.

For more information, we have put our initial recommendations and maps on our website at: http://www.sartell.k12.mn.us/district-office/elementary-capacity-study-goals-process-and-findings

If you should get questions from families, please direct their questions to Greg Johnson, PME Principal, at 253-8308 or at johnsongreg@sartell.k12.mn.us, or me at 656-3715 or joseph.hill@sartell.k12.mn.us so we can listen to concerns and provide information to our families.