Why Ely and Why now??
Jessica Fritz, Library Media Specialist, Rugby Public Schools
I think these are some questions everyone has when anything is changing. Change is always tough even if we know it needs to happen. How often have you looked at your house and wondered why didn’t we update that sooner? Why didn’t I plant those trees last year? Why didn’t I start that diet sooner? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Have you ever wished you had done something sooner?
I think those questions are fair to start with when we talk about building a better school for our students. What would you do at home if you were packed “to the gills”? Would you keep living in close quarters? What if you had a son or daughter who needed to have special accommodations for living arrangements? Would you keep your house the same as it was or try your best to make those accommodations for your son or daughter? What if it was your grandchild that needed these things at their house? Would you help them in any way possible? Have you ever gone out of your way to help those grandchildren or children? Well, this is our opportunity to help the students in our community. It is not just the students in school now but those yet to come. We are currently operating our school at max capacity in more ways than one.
Last year while teaching a leveled reading group, I was put into the hallway by the janitor’s office. This was not just for a day or week; it was for the whole time we had this reading group. We put up a partition to separate us from the noise of the gym and the hallway going to the gym. Every day we would pull in a table, set up chairs and have our reading class. When it was done, we would clean up, put the table and chairs back and go back to class. This wasn’t ideal. Imagine being 8 or 9 years old and trying to learn reading while seeing or hearing the kids going to and from gym not to mention learning in a hallway. Could it be done, yes. Did those kids see growth, yes but is it the best environment for learning? No. You might ask why this happened, well the library was being used for two other reading groups at the time, the other rooms were full with students in other reading groups and this was our best option. It was the quietest corner left in the school. This also was where my kindergarten group would go at times because of the same reasons. Yes, I said that 5 and 6 year olds were learning by the janitor’s office in the hallway.
Here is where I could go into talking about lunchroom space, library space, music space, band space and so many other space issues. It all comes down to space. Yes, I know the argument, “back when I was in school, we had more students” I agree. Everyone agrees there was a time 50 years ago when there were more students, but education is changing and that’s good. We can’t always do things the way they were done 50 years ago. That is NOT our reality. Our reality is not this easy. It involves overcrowded learning spaces, individual learning plans, small groups, and kids learning by the janitor’s office. Now is our opportunity to improve all this with an addition and update of Ely Elementary School. So, vote YES to approve the Ely Elementary Addition!