Schenectady sees spike in students Boom in youngsters an unexplained phenomenon; growth over projections
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published in print: Thursday, September 24, 2009 SCHENECTADY -- Kindergarten teacher Kimberly Garrity was hired only five days before the start of school this year.
..........>>>>................"This is something we've never seen," said the district's early childhood coordinator Susan Gorman. "Why so much right now doesn't make sense."
What is definite are the discussions about construction of the first new elementary school in the Electric City in nearly four decades, back to the time when General Electric still dominated the landscape. Currently, the former Howe magnet school is handling the overflow, with the students being bused in from throughout the city.
The district has seen slow but steady growth since 1990, a trend tied to the city's redevelopment efforts and its affordable rents and home prices. Last year's closing of the International Charter School of Schenectady forced the district to lease two former Catholic schools to handle a projected spike of about 400 students. But the sudden infusion this year of youngsters has officials scratching their heads.
................>>>>>..........So why does Schenectady have more young children this year? Rocky Ferraro, executive director of the Capital District Regional Planning Commission, wonders if more cash-stretched families in Schenectady are switching from private and parochial schools, or if children of the Guyanese and West Indian newcomers who moved to Schenectady from Queens in recent years are finally of school age.
A glut of relatively cheap rental housing might be attracting more young families than originally anticipated, said Union College sociology professor Deidre Hill Butler.
..........>>>>.............Whatever the reason, the school district is in emergency planning mode. Enrollment K-12 has now topped 10,200 students, likely making Schenectady the largest school district in the Capital Region behind suburban Shenendahowa. Albany, the largest city in the region, now has roughly 7,700 public school students with many others in charter schools.
Schenectady Superintendent Eric Ely is meeting with city business leaders about possible sites for a new elementary school. Ely would not elaborate on the closed-door talks, other than to say the district is also looking at any former parochial school space that might be left in the city.
Costs for hiring more teachers and paraprofessionals this year will have to be worked into the budget, possibly by not filling other open positions. And the district must squeeze this year's kindergartners into the first-grade classes next fall. Ely said that could mean creating classrooms out of art and music rooms with the art and music teachers going from room to room with mobile carts.
the economy has been this bad for a long time.....and 'the crash' has been in slow motion for 10years......actually I dont think it ever TRULY/HONESTLY rebounded from 1983....it was always smoke/mirrors/credit......fake fake fake........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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