STEM School Meetings Set for April
Huntington School District parents that are interested in learning more about the STEM magnet school under development have been invited to attend one of four meetings set for April.
To date, about 300 parents of students currently enrolled in grades 1-4 have expressed interest in the new program, which would be housed in the Jack Abrams School building.
Depending on whether or not Huntington is awarded a large grant the district has applied for, the STEM magnet school could open in either September 2013 or September 2014.
The upcoming meetings will be held in the Jack Abrams School auditorium at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 and Wednesday, April 10, providing parents with four opportunities to attend one of the sessions. Any district resident is invited to attend the meetings.
"During its initial year, the school will serve students in grades three to five," Superintendent James W. Polansky said. "An application process will be instituted. Subsequently, students would be selected via lottery from each primary school attendance zone."
The district has scheduled the April meetings with parents so officials can share information about the school's initiation process and curriculum. Officials are expecting many questions from parents and are prepared to answer them all. Four sessions have been scheduled to give as many parents as possible an opportunity to attend.
The district has filed an application with the State Education Department to open a STEM magnet school at Jack Abrams School, effective September 2013. Should the district not land the grant it is seeking, the application could be pulled prior by July. The district would then begin planning to launch the STEM program in September 2014.
The STEM magnet school will have a heightened focus on science, technology, engineering and math inquiry-based instruction and related activities. Class instruction will also include English, social studies and other areas commonly found in the district's elementary classrooms.
The STEM school will operate as a magnet school and thus be open to students across the district, regardless of their primary school attendance zone. The program would initially enroll students in grades 3-5 before expanding to grades 3-6 the following year.
District parents will be given the choice of keeping their child at their regularly assigned school building or placing them in the STEM magnet school.
The district has pegged the initial personnel costs associated with the STEM magnet school at $608,184. Costs for related items such as classroom furniture, computer hardware and software, projectors, SMART Boards and supplies are estimated at another $109,004.
Capital costs associated with the STEM magnet school are estimated at $310,000, including $225,000 for the renovation of science labs and $85,000 for a water booster. These costs have been built into the grant application the district filed.
Parents and guardians of a student currently enrolled in grades 1-4 who might be interested in the STEM program for their respective child are still invited to express such interest by sending an e-mail to HUFSDStemMagnet@hufsd.edu. Interested parties should include their name and their child's name, school and current grade level.