The next step in the process of re-visioning the district’s middle school program is a community meeting on the topic of middle school program configuration on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Parents, staff, and community members are encouraged to participate in the meeting, which will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Van Antwerp Middle School auditorium.

The Board of Education has engaged the community in the re-visioning process as follow-up to last year’s report from outside educational consultants. Consultants Jack Berckmeyer and Annette Fante spent a year studying the district’s middle school program at the request of the Board. The 2011 report provided the Board with a comprehensive list of recommendations for the district to consider.

One of the consultants’ recommendations was that the district consider combining the middle school program into one physical location. Berckmeyer and Fante stated: “We would be remiss if we did not mention the inherent inefficiencies associated with small schools. Given the smaller enrollment numbers experienced in the middle school and given the financial restraints facing the district, it is worth noting that economy of scale would also create opportunities for greater alignment of resources including personnel.”

The issues surrounding this recommendation from the consultants will be the focus of the Oct. 16 community meeting. The format for the evening will be similar to the Oct. 2 community meeting - a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for participants to talk in small groups.

The document at the link below lists several potential scenarios. It is intended to aid the Board and community in the discussion of two middle schools versus one. “We do not have a single school facility that would house our current middle school population,” Superintendent Susan Kay Salvaggio said. “So, in order to have this conversation, we have tried to identify three options that could lead to a single middle school location. At the heart of this conversation, is whether a single school would better serve our children in terms of program and opportunities.

Salvaggio added that feedback from Tuesday’s community meeting will help inform the Board as they look at all aspects of re-visioned middle school program in Niskayuna.