Norfolk Public Schools

Enrollment Projections and Educational Space

Select Board

October 29, 2019

Historical Context

Over the course of the past five years, the Town of Norfolk has seen an increase in growth and development, with a number of chapter 40B projects proposed and in various states of approval with the town.

School Committee Members, Administrators, Staff, Parents and Citizens have expressed significant concern about the capacity of the schools to manage increased enrollment within our current school buildings.

This is one of the top concerns parents have shared at Parent Leaders meetings and on surveys the district has conducted.

Survey Feedback

Sample Parent Comments

In January of 2017 NPS sent out a survey to parents to solicit feedback that could be used to help us shape goals and inform the development of a new 3-year strategic plan. While the district did not ask any questions about enrollment or space, several parents wrote in comments regarding this concern.

Below are a few samples of comments we received:

“I believe that planning and improving facilities to meet expanding enrollments will be the biggest challenge in 4-6 years. With our current housing increases we will see more children in the schools soon!”

“They keep building new homes in Norfolk. How will the schools be able to accommodate all these kids?”

Formation of the Space Study Committee

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The space study committee included the following members:

Jack Hathaway, Town Administrator

Ingrid Allardi, School Superintendent

Linda Balfour, H. Olive Day Principal

Todd Hassett, Business Consultant

Matthew Haffner, Facilities Director

Bob Bullock, Building Inspector

Ann Proto, Recreation Dept. Director

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In order to be proactive and to develop a thoughtful and cost-effective plan for managing potential increases in enrollment, the Town of Norfolk and the Norfolk Public Schools established a space study committee in April of 2017.

The committee was responsible for the following tasks:

• Soliciting concrete data regarding the potential impact of new construction and development on student enrollment
• Evaluating possible solutions for accommodating new enrollment in the most cost effective and efficient manner, while maintaining the high quality of education and programming the district currently offers.

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Current Building Status- H. Olive Day School

• The H. Olive Day School is currently at capacity, there are no open classrooms.
• The teacher’s workroom has been converted to an instructional space for specialized programming.
• If additional classrooms need to be added, we will lose the art room, music room or computer lab/maker space in order to accommodate growth.
• Losing these spaces would impact programs and curriculum significantly and would severely challenge the District’s capacity to provide instruction consistent with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
• This solution only provides three classrooms and does not accommodate the projected long-term growth in enrollment.

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Current Building Status- Freeman-Kennedy

• The Freeman-Kennedy School has 27 classrooms available for general education programs.
• There are designated office spaces in the building for therapists and special services, as well as classrooms designated for special education programming.
• At the Freeman-Kennedy there is currently one open classroom available for expansion.
• In order to accommodate growth beyond that one classroom, we would lose the science lab, art and music rooms and computer/maker space.
• Many of these spaces require funds for renovation in order to convert them into regular classrooms.
• Repurposing these spaces would be a short-term solution and would not allow us to accommodate the projected long-term growth in enrollment.
• The loss of these designated spaces would significantly impact our science/technology and engineering curriculum, as well as all programming and instruction in the arts.
• Norfolk’s capacity to remain educationally competitive in the region would be severely diminished.

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The Critical Importance of the Arts and Technology to 21st Century Education

Many experts argue that the skills needed to be successful in the future job market will involve “creative work”- design, development, innovation, creative thinking, collaboration and communication.

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Instruction in the Arts and in Technology are now as fundamental as instruction in any other academic discipline.

21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times by Trilling and Fadel

“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Richard Riley, Former US Secretary of Education

*We are projecting that we will have one open classroom for 2020-2021 and will be out of space at FK the following year.

Changes in Enrollment and Space Availability at

Freeman-Kennedy 2017-2019

Current Enrollment/ Class Sizes

*Indicates that class sizes exceed the target established by School Committee policy

Norfolk Public Schools Average Class Size in Relation to Massachusetts Department of Education Identified Comparison Districts

Community Needs not Addressed

• There are currently 49 families on the waitlist for Preschool
• There are currently 21 families on the waitlist for before and after school care

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*The district can not expand either of these programs due to lack of space even though the before/after care program is self-funding and preschool is tuition-based for most children.

Massachusetts Requirements for Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Special Education services are designed for young children (aged 3-5) with disabilities who need specially designed instruction or related services and whose disability(ies) cause the children to be unable to participate in developmentally appropriate typical preschool activities. School districts are required by law to ensure that developmentally appropriate ESCE programs and services are available. ECSE programs and services ensure that all children with disabilities have a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). (Massachusetts Dept. of Education)

It is the expectation that these students will be educated in inclusive environments with their typically developing peers (see the National Department of Education and The Department of Health and Human Services Joint Policy Statement https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/earlylearning/joint-statement-full-text.pdf )

Options Explored By the Space Study Committee

Option 1- Expanding the H. Olive Day School

This option was determined not to be feasible for a number of reasons including:

• All building systems are currently operating at maximum capacity (Septic, electric, HVAC, etc.) and they are aging. It would be expensive to replace and upgrade all systems.
• There is no space to add on to the existing building footprint and still accommodate parking/ play areas for students.
• Renovations would trigger responsibility to upgrade building structures/ features to meet current ADA and building codes which would be very expensive.
• Expanding the H. Olive Day School would not resolve the space issue of accommodating new enrollment in grades 3-6.

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Renting/ Leasing Portable Classrooms

Option 2- Renting/ Leasing Portable Classrooms

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This option was determined not to be fiscally prudent and does not provide a safe, secure environment-

• Portable classroom units would be stand alone units, not connected to the larger school buildings. There are significant safety concerns with this arrangement.
• Estimated cost for site work alone (septic, electric, technology, water) is $1,600,000 (Approximately $800,000 per site).
• To acquire 6 additional classrooms for each school, the estimated rental cost would be $907,000 for a five-year lease (based on current pricing).
• The total five-year cost for mobile classrooms would be $2,507,000.
• There is no space at H. Olive Day to house portable classroom units. In order to house the additional classrooms we would have to seek a variance with the town and access part of the Kunde forest.
• This is a costly short-term solution and does not provide an appropriate learning environment.

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New Construction Option

Option 3- Purchasing/Building a new site to house Special Ed. Offices/ Early Childhood Center

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This option offers only a partial solution to the growth challenges-

• This option would create capacity to absorb increasing enrollment at H. Olive Day School by relocating Pre-K classrooms and Special Education offices. It would not solve the problem of limited space for expansion in grades 3-6.
• It would be costly to build a new structure that meets DESE and State requirements. It requires a play area, kitchen, 7 classrooms with bathrooms, office spaces, a meeting room, a nurse’s station and a main office/ entrance area.
• This option creates a need for additional staffing (a full-time nurse, a building administrator or lead teacher as the Special Education Director would have to share time between three buildings). These costs would be on-going for the town.
• This creates a challenge for families picking-up and dropping students off at three separate locations.

Expanding the Freeman-Kennedy School

Option 4: Expand the Freeman-Kennedy School

• The Freeman-Kennedy School design was submitted and selected by MSBA as part of their model school program. In order to be eligible, designs must be flexible and have options for expansion and/or modification of space to meet individual districts’ programming needs.
• The expansion plan for Freeman-Kennedy includes the option of adding a connecting wing between the two side wings.
• Through the addition of a connecting wing, the district would be able to create a separate early childhood center and main office for Special Education on the first floor. This allows for the creation of 7 preschool classrooms, accounting for expected growth.
• Moving the Preschool and special education offices would create an additional seven open spaces at the H. Olive Day (classrooms/offices). With some adjustments and shifts, the district could create at least five open classrooms to absorb increases in enrollment at the K-2 level.
• Relocating the server room from HOD to the new wing would create a sixth open classroom.

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Additional Benefits of Freeman-Kennedy Expansion

• The current system capacity at Freeman-Kennedy is designed to be able to absorb another 250 students (septic, electric, etc.)
• Most Pre-K students do not eat lunch at school. Preschool students also do not access specials (art, music and library) thus this program does not place an additional strain on resources at Freeman-Kennedy.
• The roadway can easily be re-routed to create a separate entrance and drop-off area for Pre-K students.
• The second floor of the addition would create 7 classrooms to accommodate increased enrollment at the Freeman-Kennedy in grades 3-6, as well as an additional space for expanding the current SACC child-care program which is totally self-funding and would address a critical community need.

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A Cost Effective/ Efficient Solution

• Expanding the Freeman-Kennedy school would allow the town to provide a safe, secure and appropriate learning environment for all students.
• This single building project would resolve space issues at both the H. Olive Day and the Freeman-Kennedy School.
• The addition would create sufficient educational space for the town to accommodate growth for the foreseeable future.
• The FK expansion would not create a need for additional secretarial, nursing or office staff

*Special education secretaries would run the office

at the preschool site, with the Special Education

Director serving as the building administrator.

*The FK nursing staff could provide emergency

services to preschool students if needed.

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• e building project would resolve space issues at both the H. Olive Day and the Freeman-Kennedy School.
• The addition would create sufficient educational space for the town to accommodate growth for the foreseeable future.
• The FK expansion would not create a need for additional secretarial, nursing or office staff

*Special education secretaries would run the office at the Pre-K site, with the Special Education Director serving as the building administrator.

*The FK nursing staff could provide emergency services to Pre-K students if needed.

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Expanding the Freeman-Kennedy School is the most cost effective/ efficient solution to accommodating growth

Benefits to the Town of Norfolk

• Expanding the Freeman-Kennedy would create additional space that could be used by the Norfolk Recreation Department and would allow them to expand the programs offered to town residents.
• It is possible to add showers and a storage area to the new wing, enabling the town to have a true emergency shelter should a need arise. The Freeman-Kennedy already has kitchen facilities. This has been a concern of the town for a number of years.

Preliminary Studies/ Conceptual Design

At the Fall Town Meeting in Nov. of 2017, the Town of Norfolk voted to appropriate funding for the purpose of contracting with an architectural firm to conduct a preliminary feasibility study and to draft a conceptual design plan for expansion at Freeman-Kennedy School.

The Town and the District wanted to determine if an additional wing would enable us to meet the demand for projected enrollment growth. Additionally, the Town and NPS wanted to assess the potential cost of a renovation project.

NPS hired Flansburgh Architects to complete this work. A preliminary conceptual design plan was completed and shared with the School Committee and the Town in October of 2018.

Potential Funding Sources/ Next Steps

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MSBA will now consider participating in projects to prevent severe overcrowding expected to result from increased enrollment. In order to be eligible towns/ districts must be able to substantiate growth.

53.16%

Past Reimbursement Rate

Freeman-Kennedy School Building:

Opened on-time

$946,605 under budget

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HOD Roof Replacement

Substantial completion achieved by contract deadline

Estimated minimum $200,000 under budget

Benefits of Partnering with MSBA:

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• MSBA has a strong reputation state-wide of ensuring that projects are completed on time and under budget
• MSBA provides expertise, support and oversight throughout the process to ensure improved coordination between design, construction and occupancy
• MSBA has funded over 13.8 billion dollars of school construction projects
• Partnering with MSBA saves towns significant dollars in construction costs

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MSBA Process

• Towns and Districts interested in applying to MSBA must submit a Statement of Interest in April.
• MSBA considers many factors in reviewing applications including current and projected enrollment
• MSBA often requests additional information from the district after the SOI is submitted and may require a senior study visit by an MSBA team including architects and engineers who will review the site and proposed plans.
• The review process can take from 8-10 weeks before decisions are made about inviting districts to partner with MSBA.
• Once approved, districts would move forward with requesting funding from the town for the feasibility study and the full schematic design portion of the project.
• MSBA is highly involved with each step of the process.
• Once schematic designs are accepted and approved, the town can move forward with a vote to approve funding for construction.

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Questions???

Contact me:

Ingrid Allardi

allardi@norfolk.k12.ma.us

508-528-1225

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