• From: Cindy Pangborn <cindypangborn@gmail.com>
    Date: May 18, 2016 at 9:43:12 AM EDT
    To: "Niehaus, Gary" <Gary.Niehaus@gpschools.org>
    Cc: "Howell, Keith" <Keith.Howell@gpschools.org>, "Dean, Jon" <Michael.Dean@gpschools.org>, "Fenton, Christian" <Christian.Fenton@gpschools.org>, "ahmed@portraitplacegpw.com" <ahmed@portraitplacegpw.com>, Brian Summerfield <summerb@gpschools.com>, "Cindy Pangborn - Grosse Pointe Public School System (pangboc@gpschools.com)" <pangboc@gpschools.com>, Dan Roeske <roesked@gpschools.com>, "Ismail, Ahmed (GPPSS)" <ismaila@gpschools.com>, Judy Gafa <gafaj@gpschools.com>, "Lois Valente" <valentl@gpschools.com>, Margaret Weertz <weertzm@gpschools.com>
    Subject: Re: Early fives

    Curious...just "for fun"...and it may be too late to pull in some residents because of commitments and payment to private and parochial schools,  but...what if we just asked everyone of our elementary schools if there are students who would be enrolled in our early fives program...after all, if we are running a small class at Poupard  we can run small classes everywhere for this age group.  What would it hurt?  I'm tired of the poster child for innovation and waiting lists for the elementary schools, being the multi-age classroom.  Twenty years it has been a Pilot Program...20  years ? !   Why haven't we expanded this successful program , even though it has proven year after year to be a winner? The only answer I remember hearing at a Board meeting was that they couldn't find another teacher as wonderful as the one teacher that teaches this class.  There is no excuse for this.  Will we drop this program when the current teacher retires ? This is laziness...no real commitment to a winning program that could bring residents back to our schools .  The program works or it doesn't.  Let's make a decision.  We are thumbing our noses at opportunities that exist and have the potential to bring residents back into the public school system.  We are not paying attention to what our community, as a whole, expects. I'm  afraid we are looking for fast , " easy " ways to increase revenue when the answers are right in front of us, with our own residents.
    Please don't turn this into an expose' of hard everyone works. .you would be mistaken, if you think that is my complaint.  I want action on what we can do to bring back residents to our school system.  The Board, Administration and faculty need to commit to a line by line assessment not only on budget but on curriculum.  I am hearing to much "we can't"  not "we will".  We know what the community wants, we have to make sure we deliver.
    Cindy
    Sent from my iPad


    On May 17, 2016, at 3:00 PM, Niehaus, Gary <Gary.Niehaus@gpschools.org> wrote:

     

    Cindy,

     

    We currently have availability for 9 more students in our Young 5s program at Poupard.  We wanted three new Young Five classrooms for next fall.  I understand that if we open a fourth section at Monteith Elementary School we would take most of the Star of the Sea Young Fives.  Monteith Elementary School is a future site.  We have to keep the Poupard Elementary School Young Five program open.  I appreciate your thoughts and understand the need at Monteith.  It will be a future site.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Keith Howell

    Director of PreK-Elementary Instruction

    313-432-3044  keith.howell@gpschools.org

    Twitter: @principalhowell

     

     

    -----Original Message-----

    From: Cindy Pangborn [mailto:cindypangborn@gmail.com]

    Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 8:48 AM

    To: Howell, Keith; Niehaus, Gary

    Subject: Early fives

     

    Hello Keith,

    Are we going to expand early fives for 16-17? What is the plan moving forward?

    I am getting calls, mostly from Montieth parents, about why this isn't being expanded, given the interest for this program.

    Cindy,

     

    Sent from my iPad