Spring 2003 Edition       

A Visit to the High School        The Fair Lawn High School’s hallways are jammed between periods.  But, it is orderly and surprisingly quiet.  Clearly, Elizabeth Panella, the Principal, runs a tight ship.  (Although, like most ships, she does make use of every square inch and there are a couple of hard-to-find leaks.)   Fair Lawn News visited the High School recently to talk with the principal (a long-time resident of Fair Lawn).  We wanted to learn about the need for last year’s proposal to add a new wing onto the high school.  It was part of the referendum to expand and modernize Fair Lawn’s school infrastructure that failed in a 52% to 48% vote.     Times Have Changed Last year, many of Fair Lawn’s baby boomers asked the same question: “Thirty years ago, when I was at Fair Lawn High School we had more kids than we have today.  Why does the high school need more space now?”     When asked why a 21st century New Jersey school needs more space than a 20th century one, Mrs. Panella gives two reasons:  state regulations and preparing students for a different world.    Need More Space Because of State Regulations “The new state codes are much more stringent", Mrs. Panella said.  "We used to teach classes in any space we could find, some no bigger than large closets; but, we can no longer do that.  For example, we have a trailer outside, but the state will not let us use it, because it doesn’t have a bathroom.”    Since every classroom has new technology (such as computers), space is tighter than it once was.  According to Mrs. Panella, the state guidelines for classroom size are now 750 to 850 square feet; the rooms in Fair Lawn High School’s old wing are 650 square feet.    Mrs. Panella said “based on the state’s current code, our high school should hold no more than 1,000 students.  That’s why the state will provide $11 million to help Fair Lawn relieve crowding, if the voters pass a referendum”   Need More Space to Prepare Students An even more important difference in schools today, according to Mrs. Panella, is the need to prepare kids for the information world.  She said "Thirty years ago, we didn't have science labs and we didn't have computer labs.   We teach differently than we did thirty years ago.  We don’t have 35 or 40 kids in a class where the teachers lecture and the kids just take notes.  We refer to that method of teaching as ‘banking’ -- the teacher deposits the information in on a Monday and then the students return it on a Friday.”    The High School’s academic program is more rigorous than 30 years ago.  Mrs. Panella said "To prepare them for the workforce, they need a full and rich high school career."  To meet this need, the high school offers a strong academic program with elective programs.     Outgrowing the Space   Growing Student Population Mrs. Panella said “Every year since I started 15 years ago our school enrollment has been growing.  It was about 1,000 in 1988 when I started; now it is 1,500 and it is expected to grow to 2,000.  Families are moving to Fair Lawn from all over the world – from Texas, Ohio, South Jersey, Paterson, NYC, Italy, China, Korea.  We’ve always had a diverse body including many Russians and Israelis.  Now, we also have a growing Hispanic and a strong Philippino population.”   All The Classrooms Are Used Except for lunch time, every high school classroom is used throughout the day.  The only available rooms that are not used every period are the specialty classes, like wood shop -- and state safety laws forbid the school to hold regular classes in the wood shop room.   Mrs. Panella said “When you calculate how many of our classrooms are being used during the day, including lunch periods and specialty rooms – it comes out to 92%.  In comparison, the state average is 65% to 70%.”   Every Square Inch Mrs. Panella said the high school staff is trying to use every square inch of the school.  They closed the automotive repair shop, last year.  “We now have guidance counselors meeting with groups of kids in tiny spaces.  One space is about 8 feet by 8 feet, and we can only fit very small chairs in that space.  The science labs are stuffed with kids.  For safety reasons, there are just so many kids you can have in a science lab at one time.”   She said “We can not accommodate all our kids in the cafeteria.  We have two cafeterias.  By law, the cafeteria can not hold more than 150 students each.  That’s why we have an ‘open lunch’ where kids can go out during lunch time.”     The Alternatives To Adding Space Onto the School:   The Board of Education wants to do everything possible to keep the class size below 25 -- larger class sizes have been found to limit the individual attention which is critical to a quality education.     Mrs. Panella said the High School staff, the Board of Education, and outside architects all carefully reviewed the alternatives to adding space onto the school.  In order to keep class sizes to a manageable level and keep the students all in the same building, there are really only two alternatives to building new space.   Mrs. Panella is confident that once Fair Lawn residents learn about the reasons for expanding the high school and the alternatives to adding space, they will vote to expand the high school.    1st Alternative:  Split Shifts With split shifts, one group of kids would come in the morning and the other in the afternoon.     Mrs. Panella said, “In schools with split shifts, the students can not go for extra help, because teachers are teaching from early in the morning until later in the afternoon.  If the first shift kids want to participate in extra-curricular activites, they would need to leave the school at the end of their shift and then come back later."  Mrs. Panella said "Split shifts would also hurt the after-school programs.  In the winter, sports' practices would take place in the dark and it would be very hard to find teachers willing to coach, since they wouldn't get home until 7:00 pm.”  Just as important to Mrs. Panella and the other teachers, “split shifts would hurt the school community that we have.”   2nd Alternative:  Reduce the Number of Classes Right now, each student takes seven classes.  The schools could reduce the number of academic classes as well as the number of Advanced Placement classes offered.   Mrs. Panella said "this would impact a student's ability to get into college. Colleges want students with diverse interests, someone who can round out their college community.  They are looking for all-around academics with special qualities."   She also said "Fair Lawn High School wants to provide an opportunity to let kids explore their interests.  If we reduce the number of classes, kids with a strong interest in fine arts or other creative fields, may not have room in their schedule to take those kinds of classes."   In the Next Few Months   In the next few months, the Board of Education will consider another referendum to address high school crowding.  Note, the April School Budget vote is not related to an expansion of the high school.