As you know, during the 2022-23 school year, elementary students in the Hendrick Hudson School District will be assigned to schools by grade. This reorganization, otherwise known as the Princeton Plan, sustainably addresses variable student enrollment in each grade level, ensures equal class sizes and more balanced class composition, and yields significant cost savings, upwards of $2 million per year.
Kindergarten and first-grade students will be located at our most central school building, Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School, minimizing bus ride lengths for our youngest students. FGL also happens to be the largest of the elementary school buildings, with the most classrooms, ensuring that we have ample space if we reduce the caps on class size in the future. The building provides plenty of space to grow and adjust, giving the district the ability to respond to enrollment growth or the need for extra class sections.
Additionally, the school’s proximity to the high school will allow our high school students to continue to partner with FGL. Throughout the school year, Hendrick Hudson High School students visit FGL to interact and play with the younger students. Most often, these interactions are with the youngest children in the school; this reorganization will allow those relationships to continue, something both age groups have greatly benefited from.
Finally, there are potential short- and long-range opportunities to provide pre-K classes in the building, either directly through the district or in partnership with an outside pre-K provider.
Second and third graders will be located at Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School, where upgrades and renovations have recently been made to the school’s playground equipment and main office area. B-V has a longstanding and unique relationship with the village of Buchanan, in which the school routinely enjoys the use of village parks and facilities, including the nearby pavilion, which can accommodate large groups and school wide activities. B-V also uniquely enjoys easy access to hiking trails, providing students with opportunities for both outdoor exercise and nature exploration.
The decision to house our fourth and fifth grade students at Furnace Woods Elementary School was largely based on its proximity to Blue Mountain Middle School. By creating strong connections between these two schools, we can help mitigate some of the anxiety students and parents often feel around the transition from elementary to middle school.
With the new configuration, our younger students will have access to middle school facilities and activities, including shared outdoor spaces, such as playing fields and the Project Adventure course. Students will also have access to the renovated auditorium for large group presentations and performances. The proximity of the two schools will create a natural bridge, providing new opportunities for social-emotional curriculum and positive transition activities, including the potential to partner together through after-school clubs and activities.
School Grades and Principals
The following is the school reorganization plan, along with the principal assigned to each building. Click on the links below for brief introductions to our three elementary school principals.
Frank G. Lindsey Elementary School – Kindergarten and First Grade
Principal: Dr. Cynthia Kramer
Buchanan-Verplanck Elementary School – Second and Third Grade
Principal: Donna Torrisi
Furnace Woods Elementary School – Fourth and Fifth Grade
Principal: Joshua Cohen
Why Plan Now for 2022-23?
By planning now for the 2022-23 school year, we can take advantage of the next 15 months to make the district’s reorganization as seamless as possible. This time will be used to:
- Allow the elementary principals to get acclimated to their new school buildings and facilities.
- Enable principals and staff to network with their counterparts in other districts organized in a similar fashion and share best practices.
- Begin community outreach to families regarding processes and programs specific to each school.
Transportation
The district’s transportation team will continue to prepare draft bus routes to ensure the most efficient and effective way to safely transport our students. All fourth and fifth grade students, attending FWS, will have their own bus run in the morning and afternoon. FWS’s bell schedule will remain 8:20 am to 2:25 pm.
K-1st grade students attending FGL and 2nd and 3rd grade students attending B-V will ride the bus together in the morning. For families with students attending both schools, their children will ride the bus together. This will help alleviate concerns parents shared regarding multiple morning pick up times for children in these two school buildings. We will continue to review afternoon bus routes. Both FGL and B-V will operate the same bell schedule as they do currently: 9 am to 3:05 pm.
Prior to the development of specific routes, families will be asked to provide information about any before-school or after-school care arrangements. Students will be transported from/to any other of the schools for before/aftercare. This allows families flexibility of location.
Coordination with before-school and after-school care providers will begin well in advance of September 2022. This will allow the providers to make adjustments to their programs to prepare for any additional children.
Wishing you a restful Memorial Day weekend.
Regards,
Joseph Hochreiter
Superintendent
