Grade-Level Banding Facts & Information

Grade-Level Banding Facts & Information:

What are the benefits to this proposal?

Students will immediately begin building relationships with their entire graduating class beginning in Kindergarten. This proposal is designed to help bridge our community. Grade level opportunities will be aligned providing consistency with curriculum and materials for all students.  Students at the same grade level will all receive the same educational experiences, benefitting from the expertise of teachers from all three elementary buildings. The plan will increase collaboration and allow opportunities to build stronger relationships among the teaching staff.  Additionally, this proposal meets the desire of our community to be fiscally responsible while still providing high-quality educational opportunities for all our students. 

What building would my student attend if the Board of Education approves the elementary plan?

Bogan: K-1

Marshall: 2-3

Kramer: Preschool, 4-5

What programs or services will be saved with this grade level plan?

It will be the recommendation of the Superintendent to use the $400,000 to save the following:

• Keep Art, Music, PE in all three elementary schools

• Reduce Athletic & Marching Band fees to $450/activity at THS & $175 at TMS with no family cap

• Provide Extra Curricular Programs (i.e. Prom, Homecoming, and Mock Trial)

• Keep the Athletic Directors and AD Secretary in order to keep Athletics 

• Keep the classified lunch/recess monitors 

What does transportation look like with this plan?

• Grades 9-12 No Transportation

There will be no transportation for students (except students designated with special transportation) attending Talawanda High School regardless of moving forward with grade-band buildings.

• Butler Tech Shuttle for High School Students

Butler Tech students will need to arrive at the designated spot (currently Marshall Elementary but subject to change), regardless of moving forward with grade-band buildings. The students would then be shuttled to Butler Tech and back to the designated location (TBD). Parking will be limited at the designated place.  

• Private/Parochial/Charter School Transportation for 9-12

There will be no transportation for private, charter, or parochial students who are in grades 9-12.

• Two Mile No Transportation From A Building

If you live within two miles of the school your child attends, you would need to transport that child. 

• Example: Kramer is the 4th/5th grade building, and you live within two miles of Kramer, your child will not be transported to Kramer for grades 4 and 5. 

• Example: A family has three children going to three different buildings. A family would ONLY have to drive the students to the school where the family lives within two miles.  The children will be transported to the schools that are more than two miles away from their home.

How long would my student be on the bus?

The bus routes have not been determined yet. We have to wait until summer for the new student registration process to be completed. Our past practice has been to try to keep bus routes to around an hour or less. We have increased this time frame to one and a half hours, but will do everything we can to keep the bus route lengths as reasonable as possible.

What if I have multiple children or the new start/end times do not work for our schedule?

We are looking into providing a Latch-Key program at the middle school. More information will be provided about this potential program. A benefit would be that the program would be available district wide for the first time.

How will class sizes be affected?

Grade level banding affords TSD the opportunity to have well-balanced and smaller class sizes than what we currently offer. Early estimates have class sizes for 1st - 5th grade at an average of 23 students. 

How much will the grade level band proposal save?

We initially will save over $400,000 dollars in year one (including moving costs). This amount will increase as staff reductions occur due to attrition. We anticipate additional savings from the single tier bus route which will allow additional rollbacks in year two and beyond. This is a significant cost savings. 

What happens to the Parent Teacher Groups (PTG)?

Parent Teacher Groups are their own entities not controlled or overseen by TSD. PTGs have their own policies, protocols, by-laws, and procedures.  The district doesn’t see any reason that PTG’s won’t continue to exist.

Will this elementary grade level proposal be implemented for the 23-24 school year?

The proposal will be brought to the February 23, 2023 Board of Education meeting at 7 PM at Talawanda High School. The BOE meetings are videotaped and stored on our website for those who cannot attend.

Would all the buildings start at the same time?

This plan will allow for all buildings in the district to be on similar start/end times. 

Will Elementary Teachers be CUT due to this proposal?

The goal of this proposal will be to use attrition, such as retirements and resignations, to reduce the number of elementary grade level teachers.  This proposal will actually save teachers, other staff, services and programs.

Is the Board of Education placing an operating levy on the May 2023 ballot?

No, the Board of Education is not placing an operating levy on the May 2023 ballot. Timelines to apply for the May 2023 ballot have passed.  The Board has not determined when or if  they will place an operating levy back on the ballot.