West Babylon School officials held a presentation on a proposal to bring a 9-period day to the Junior High School. The plan, if implemented would provide students and staff with greater flexibility in the selection courses, free up students for additional instruction or extra curricular activities after school, and improve academic achievement, said Scott Payne, Junior High School principal who together with Michael J. Rizzo, Junior High School principal headed a team of staff members in putting together the proposal. The group presented it to the West Babylon School Board February 7, and the board allocated funding in its proposed budget for 2006-07 to move the plan forward.

Currently, students in the Junior High School have an 8-period day and West Babylon is one of the last to move to a 9-period day. At present, students receive AIS, Academic Intervention Services, either during their lunch period, or after school. The change would permit students to get that instruction during the regular school day.

“One of the major problems is that students often see this as a punitive situation,” said Shawn Hanley, one of the team members. “In addition, sometimes students who are taking a test don’t have the time to take advantage of some additional help a teacher might offer before the test or after school because they have AIS.”

Other team members included Cathy Benjamin, Paul Bryan, RoseLyn Cipparulo, Liz Garland, Steve Hauk, Tara Hoffmann, Kathleen Keenan, Darlene Olszewski, Julie Poers, Dom Suqicciarini and Mary Sullivan.

The district said that many students receive AIS, at least one day a week.

“We provide more students with AIS than we are required to by the state,” said Superintendent of Schools Mel Noble. “That is because we want to leave no stone unturned in helping our students achieve so students who scores in the high range of level II will still receive services, even though the state says it is not necessary.”

But it is not only the students in need of some additional instruction time who will benefit from the 9period day.

“The change, if implemented, will provide us the opportunity to give accelerated students a lab period,” said Noble. “Right now they have to take it during their lunch. In addition, we can provide other enrichment courses.”

“Even the students who are doing well will benefit from the change because they could be doing so much more,” said Payne.

The program would require that the district hire 2.2 more teachers and Noble credited the team with “putting together a creative way to do this that will not overburden us in terms of cost.” BOARD ALSO CONSIDERS EXPANDING ATHLETIC PROGRAM

In addition to the 9-period day at the Junior High School, the district is considering to offer, once again, two athletic teams for each sport at the Junior High School. The district cut back to one team several years ago due to fiscal constraints.

“I’d like us to look at some way of offering a second team,” said Lucy Campasano, school board president who asked the district’s finance director Anthony Cacciola “to cost out,” the plan for an upcoming budget meeting.

Campasano said she’d like to present the idea to the public, which last year expressed interest in expanding the program. One way to accomplish this would be to eliminate the assistant coaches and to have only head coaches for each team, which would make the plan more cost effective.

The board discussed this briefly touching on whether this could be done contractually and what the safety implications would be, if any, of the change.

“One of the concerns I have is that if a student is hurt and has to go to the hospital, there would be no one left to take care of the other students,” said Trustee Barbara Kenealy

Caracciola said he would get back to the board with figures.

The programs are contingent, however, on the district having a successful budget vote. Currently, the district is working on a proposed spending plan, reducing costs wherever possible and awaiting final word on its state aid package. A final budget is not expected to be presented to the public for at least six to eight weeks.

Two weeks ago the district held a legislative breakfast, impressing upon local lawmakers the need to adjust the Governor’s state aid proposal—upward. Under the Governor’s plan, West Babylon would receive $309,000 less in state aid than it did this year.

“We consider these lawmakers our “advocates,” in Albany,” said Noble. “They have been there every year fighting to ensure that we receive a fair share of state aid.”