Winter 2004 Edition     

Warren Point School     Mr. Bratspies is the principal of Fair Lawn 's most populated elementary school.  It has more students than Memorial Middle School.  When he started 12 years ago, it had 385 students, now it's up to 480 students.  Bratspies said "the school was fairly full, then, now it's overflowing."     In the back of the school, a portable trailer brought in three years ago, now serves as the music and art room.  It is 15 feet wide by 50 feet long.  Bratspies says that "the trailer is well suited for art, but the dimensions don't work as well for a chorus and other music lessons."    Bratspies compares a school and its teachers to a hospital.  "You can't expect a skilled surgeon to perform surgery without providing him with a modern operating room." Bratspies tells parents that the building expansion proposed for the school is not designed to make the school more comfortable or improve the aesthetics.  "It is designed to allow the school to comply with the law and provide an appropriate education for the students."  He said the proposal "is bare bones, not glamorous.  There's no fringes.  The state says that the space we are using is substandard and does not conform to state codes.  But, I'm left without a choice.  The expansion would allow us to comply with the state's codes." The building proposal would include two new kindergarten classrooms (kindergarten kids need more space than other children because they need to move around a lot) as well as a new media center (for books, computers, and video conferencing equipment). The new space would free up storage space in the basement that is now being used for remedial programs, child study teams, and gifted programs. Because of space constraints, many of the art and music programs, need to be brought into the classrooms.  He said "the children don't get full art and music programs, when they don't have the tools or the space.   Changes in the Past 40 Years Forty years ago, when there were as many as 35 children in a class, there were more students in Warren Point School.  Mr. Bratspies says that research have since proven that class size has an impact on the quality of education.  According to Mr. Bratspies, the State requires smaller class sizes as well as much more specialized instruction.  That is one of the reasons why they pay for a substantial portion of school construction costs.   Today, space is needed for gifted and talented programs, remedial programs, and special education.  These programs are all mandated by the state.  Mr. Bratspies said just as a 1950's hospital doesn't provide 21st century medical service, a 1950's school doesn't provide a 21st century education.   "Successful careers", he says, "require a much different education than we provided in previous generations."