Westfield School Committee discusses Fort Meadow Center

March 31, 2021 | Amy Porter
amyporter@thewestfieldnews.com

Joanne Hentnick, Fort Meadow Early Childhood Education Center principal, reads to students.
Reminder Publishing file photo

WESTFIELD – The School Committee continued its discussion March 15 of a proposed early childhood inclusion plan that would close the aging Fort Meadow Early Childhood Education Center on 35 White St. and move the preschool program to classrooms within four neighborhood elementary schools.

Fort Meadow is a public integrated pre-K in which children with disabilities learn alongside typically developing peers. The school is staffed by special educators and licensed specialists that include a certified school psychologist, speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, an adjustment counselor and a board-certified behavior analyst.

“The condition of the building at Fort Meadow has been a discussion even before I was superintendent of schools, and I can tell you the building hasn’t gotten any younger,” said Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski.

According to Czaporowski, the pre-World War I building needs a new roof, the windows are single paned, radiators and steam traps throughout the building need to be replaced as does all the carpeting, which has asbestos tile underneath. He said without consideration of asbestos abatement, the cost of needed repairs is over $1.725 million, and projected abatements could bring the cost to well over $3 million, with no hope of reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), which only funds kindergarten through grade 12 schools.

“I appreciate and have been a part of Fort Meadow, and I understand the family atmosphere that is there, but I will say the family atmosphere does exist at the elementary schools as well,” Czaporowski said at the meeting.

In a slideshow presentation, Czaporowski responded to many of the concerns raised by families since word of the possible closure was announced. He also listed the benefits of having students go to prekindergarten in neighborhood elementary schools, including one less transition for students, and a continuum of services from pre-K to elementary school.

Czaporowski pointed to area communities that have the same model. He said Pittsfield started by including pre-K in three out of eight elementary schools last year, and now plans to include pre-K in all eight schools next year. “We did reach out to other districts that have done this as well. We heard back a lot of positive feedback,” he said.

Czaporowski said counting the new elementary school at Franklin Avenue, which has preschool classrooms in the building plans, Westfield would be able to serve 300 pre-K students in the elementary schools, more than the average of 200 students at Fort Meadow. This year, Fort Meadow has a lower enrollment of 124 largely due to COVID-19, another reason the district is considering a move now that would impact fewer families.

Czaporowski said the elementary schools are not overcrowded, a criticism raised in the arguments against the move. He said when Westfield redistricted and pulled fifth grade out of the elementary schools, that freed up classroom space.

He said the existing furniture, classroom materials and supplies, changing tables and gym equipment in Fort Meadow would be moved to the elementary schools if the plan were to move forward, another concern raised by families. Each pre-K classroom in the elementary schools would have its own appropriately-sized lavatory. Czaporowski said there are currently funds available to purchase supplies, including playground equipment, which may not be available next year.

In response to concerns about therapeutic services, Czaporowski said there is a full-time speech therapist at Fort Meadow, but all other related service providers already travel throughout the district. He said the providers assigned to elementary schools would continue serving the pre-K students when they transition.

Several elementary school principals also spoke at the March 15 meeting in favor of the plan. Munger Hill Elementary School Principal Salvatore Frieri began by saying he had “zero negative things to say about Fort Meadow,” but added, “if it goes through, I’m excited to welcome prekindergarten.”

Frieri said in his previous experience in Holyoke Public Schools, the preschool staff was a part of the community of teachers, and service providers were able to make the connection with the children over more years.

“It’s not a step down to go into elementary schools. The space will be top notch,” he said, adding that Munger Hill has a great community.

Paper Mill Principal Melanie Chasse said in Maine, where she previously worked, they have had public preschools since 2010. “It makes an incredible difference in having prekindergarten in a K-5 setting. It extends the family setting, and a larger community gathers around preschool,” she said. “Older kids really love their opportunities to mentor.”

Chasse also talked about the Acute Traumatic Stress Disorder and Quest autism services that are offered at both Fort Meadow and Paper Mill. “There are amazing opportunities for those students to be in school with that program. I’m looking forward to it; I don’t see anything but positive possibilities with this transition,” she said.

School Committee member Ramon Diaz Jr., whose son went to Fort Meadow and who has been opposed to the plan of splitting up the school, said there are a couple of benefits to the program that haven’t been discussed.

“(One is) that many families are in the same boat, going through the same things, and they ease you into it.” Diaz said.  He acknowledged that he is not an educator, but said he is a logistician, and knows what it takes to go from a centralized location to dispersed ones.

“What I saw in the presentation were the benefits about going in one direction, but there are pros and cons to everything. Con is a smaller community of families at each location going through the same thing,” Diaz said, adding, “If Fort Meadow is the problem, let’s keep them together. My vote is going to be keeping them together. I feel strongly about it because I’ve seen and experienced it first-hand.”

School Committee member Heather Sullivan also opposed splitting up the program.

“Fort Meadow is always talked about as being a grand success; not the building, but the way we carry out that program,” she said, adding that she agrees with the superintendent about the building  “We’re talking about a community and a program that’s been a great success. We should treat it as a success. I’m struggling with dismantling a program that we know works.”

Special Education Administrator Debra Ecker, who was unanimously confirmed by the School Committee at the March 15 meeting after serving as interim administrator for the past year, said they are not talking about dismantling the program. “It’s one thing to talk about dismantling a building, but we’re not dismantling the teachers and the services, they will still be offered at the elementary schools,” she said.  

“This is not a reflection on the Fort Meadow program. The reality is we have an aging building in our district, and we have a solution that’s not a new building. If we had a new building that we could pick up Fort Meadow and move it to right now we wouldn’t be having this discussion,” Czaporowski said.

In the interest of time, Mayor Donald F. Humason Jr., who serves as de facto chair of the School Committee, asked whether there would be a vote on the plan. After further discussion, the vote was tabled until April 5.

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