Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the New Westlake Elementary School
Why are you changing the scheduled times for our elementary, intermediate and middle schools?
- Our intent was to keep the start/end times the same. However, during planning sessions, our biggest hurdle became transportation.
How will transportation be different next year?
- In planning for next school year, we anticipate an increase in the number of elementary school students we bus each day due to fewer school family homes within the one-mile transportation radius for the new building. To accommodate transportation needs, the start and end times for Westlake Elementary School, Dover Intermediate School and Lee Burneson Middle School (there Is no change to the Westlake High School schedule) are being adjusted.
Why didn't you plan for additional transportation needs?
- The district has made a significant investment in its bus fleet in the past three years, including the purchase of 13 new buses, new routing software and GPS systems. We are committed to a safe and efficient bus fleet.
What are the benefits to the adjusted start times?
- For families who rely on older siblings to help after school, this adjustment will permit older siblings to be home first. This also addresses concerns about scheduling bus pickup times prior to 7am, when it is still dark outside and roads may not be in the best condition. With the adjusted schedule, all morning bus pickup times will be at 7am or later.
Why are preschool times aligned with the elementary day?
- This year, preschool starts after the elementary school day begins. Adjusting the elementary start time later meant also moving the preschool start time. The aligned start times places all PK-K staff on similar schedules and eases the burden of parents with more than one child who would need to juggle multiple schedules to accommodate differing start times.
Why not have DIS, LBMS & WHS start at the same time?
DIS and LBMS share buses and need to be on the same schedule. We encourage DIS and LBMS families to use school transportation to ease the traffic on the Dover campus. The staggered start times with the high school will allow parents to drop off older children at WHS - whose doors open at 6am - and still have ample time to drop off children at the Dover campus if necessary.
Have you seen the Seattle schools study and the benefits of later start times for teens?
Yes. WHS' start time was pushed to its current start time several years ago. The Seattle school district noted in the study on NPR has 53,000 students, 18 high schools and 13 middle schools. In many ways, they are their own entity. To come close to aligning with area high schools and middle schools, we would have to partner with our Southwest Conference and neighboring school districts. As a reference, here are the start times for our neighboring elementary and middle schools.
District | Elementary | Other
Information | Middle
School |
Amherst | 8:30 AM | | 7:45 AM |
Avon
| 8:45 AM | Grades
1+2 | 8:00 AM |
Avon
Lake | 8:50 AM | | 8:00 AM |
Bay
Village | 8:35 AM | Grades
1+2 | 7:45 AM |
Berea | 9:10 AM | | 8:00 AM |
Lakewood | 9:00 AM | | 8:15 AM |
Midview
| 8:40 AM | | 7:25 AM |
North
Olmsted | 9:05 AM | | 7:45 AM |
North
Ridgeville | 8:40 AM | | 7:30 AM |
Olmsted
Falls | 8:00 AM | | 8:30 AM |
Rocky
River | 9:05 AM | | 8:15 AM |
Westlake | 8:45 AM | | 7:50 AM |
- The Westlake Schools 2019-2020 School Year Start/End Times are as follows:
- Westlake Elementary School -- 8:45am-3:30pm
- Westlake Preschool -- 8:30am-11:30am & 12:30-3:30pm
- Dover Intermediate School -- 7:50am-2:35pm
- Lee Burneson Middle School -- 7:50am-2:35pm
- Westlake High School
Are the preschool times aligned with the elementary day?
- Preschool start time and elementary drop-off time will the same. PK will start at 8:30am. Elementary students can begin being dropped off at 8:30am with a tardy bell at 8:45am. PK will not have a tardy bell. Currently, Preschool starts after the elementary school day begins. With the start times of elementary schools starting later, we did not want preschool starting after. We would have needed to start it before. We had a number of concerns with starting earlier. One concern was getting preschool cars past the cars lined up to drop-off for elementary students. People tend to line up early and we didn’t want to set a format of preschool parents passing people in a line. Another is aligning the staff day. We would like all of PK and K staff to be on similar schedules for them to meet when needed. Also, parents could have a PK student and elementary student. Meaning, with an early PK start, they would drop off their PK student and then get back in line to drop off an elementary student. It didn’t make sense.
Will the Center Ridge Road library entrance be closed?
- There is no road that connects the library and school parking lots. A fence separates a majority of the two properties, so students cannot be dropped off in the library parking lot. To be considerate of our neighbors, student pickup and dropoff on Westown and at the library is prohibited.
What is the security plan?
- We have always placed a high priority on security. Security features at the new building will match those of our new middle and high school buildings.
With the amount of traffic going into and out of the school, what safety precautions will be put in place?
- Car and bus traffic will be completely separated on site. Sidewalks will be established to safely lead pedestrians from the street to the school entrance, creating the safest environment for our students, staff and visitors.
Will there be multiple cafeterias or staggered lunch times?
- There is one cafeteria. Staggered lunch and recess times run from 10:40am to 12:40pm.
How many classrooms will there be per grade level?
When will road construction begin?
- Road construction began in March and is anticipated to be completed prior to the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
How often will children use common spaces?
- We kept traditional classrooms for safety purposes, Common spaces and extended learning areas will be used by teachers seeking to group small numbers of students together for project and group work.
Will there be outdoor space or natural learning areas for students?
- We anticipate taking advantage of the natural wetlands on site to incorporate into future natural learning spaces.
Will the school lunch menus be different?
- Our school lunch program already incorporates healthy meals choices and will remain consistent with the rest of the district's meal plan.
How will you maintain a small school feel inside such a large building?
- While there are large common areas - like the gymnasium and cafeteria - students will exit their buses each morning at the rear of the building and walk directly into their grade level House. This maintains the neighborhood school feel that is so important to our families.
How often will students use the common space in each House?
- That decision will be at the discretion of our teachers. Currently, our teachers send a handful of students into hallways to work on projects. The extended learning areas now allow for small group activities.
Will there be a media center for each grade level?
- Yes, each grade level will have a media center and an adult available to check out books.
Will there be a computer room?
- Rather than making technology a location, we will bring the technology to the students in the extended learning areas and the classrooms.
Will students take French or Spanish?
- When it comes to World Language, we intend to offer both Spanish and French. We are working on ways to expose our elementary students to both languages so they have more opportunities available to them going into 5th grade.
How will the new elementary school be structured?
- The building is designed with three separate houses, including a one-story house for PK and K, a two-story house for grades 1-2, and another two-story house for grades 3-4. Central to the plan are the administration offices and core facilities, including the gymnasium, cafetorium, and art and music rooms. Each house has a central Extended Learning Area (ELA). These spaces are flexible and adaptable and can easily be rearranged to accommodate a wide variety of activities and group sizes.
How many students will attend the new elementary school?
How will the consolidation of four buildings impact staffing levels?
- By consolidating four elementary schools into one building, we will save over $1.2 million in staffing costs alone. Almost all staffing reductions will be eliminated through retirements with no or minimal layoffs.
How will special services, such as gifted and intervention programs, be delivered to students?
- We are working on a plan to align the practices of the four buildings to best meet the needs of our students. We will provide updates once the plan is finalized.
How will you handle traffic on the new site and on surrounding streets?
- Construction traffic will be limited to Center Ridge Road for the bulk of the project. Light construction traffic will occur on Westown Boulevard during driveway creation and connecting utility work.
- The land exchange with the city included an agreement for road improvements on Center Ridge Road, including the addition of a left turn lane into the site, a committed right turn lane to handle traffic into the site, and a four-way intersection at Glenmore Drive with a traffic signal. Since then, the city has decided to add an additional light at Westown Boulevard and Dover Center Road.
How many parking spaces will there be on the site? Will the site be able to accommodate all-school events?
- Total car spaces is 347. 121 of those spaces will be located behind the building and used for bus staging during pickup and drop-off periods during the school day, and for additional event parking after hours.
How many special events held after hours do you anticipate throughout the year?
- This is part of the transition planning being addressed by our administrative team and our PTA units, which will look at consolidating events.
How many buses will be on site daily?
- The lot can handle 30 buses at any one time. Bus routing is under development for the new attendance area. Bus routes will be communicated prior to the start of the 2019-2020 school year to allow ample time for parents and students to prepare and plan.
When will the new school open?
- We anticipate a Fall 2019 opening.
What will happen to the current elementary buildings and properties?
- Our intent is to eventually raze the four elementary buildings and/or repurpose one or more buildings for school use. The land will be used for field space.
Will traffic flow and parking change on the Lee Burneson Middle School/Dover Intermediate School campus with Dover Elementary closing?
- Dover Elementary School will be razed and the current parking area will be redesigned to improve traffic flow on the site.
