Abington School Board: No Decision Yet on Extra Elementary Sections

Abington School Board President Raymond McGarry said yesterday that the school board will decide in about a week whether it will add extra sections to three elementary schools.

The new sections being considered are a first-grade section at Highland Elementary; a first-grade section at McKinley; and a third-grade section at Rydal.

Abington resident and parent Ken MacKenzie spoke to the school board about the possibility of adding another third-grade section to Rydal. His son is entereing third grade. MacKenzie told the board that his son has benefited from a before-school reading enhancement program, adding that his son was only offered it because other students turned it down.

“He was close to being proficient, and he got the opportunity to become proficient because others who needed more help declined [it], and I’m very fortunate,” MacKenzie told the school board. 

In the hallway, after he addressed the board, MacKenzie said, “The second-graders at Rydal have a very large class—I understand it’s the largest. You can just see it when parents come to volunteer.

“My son says that they’re going to make the right decision,” MacKenzie said. “We’re just kind of nudging them.”

McGarry told MacKenzie that the school board will continue to monitor the situation at Rydal, but added that the school administration still needs to hear from some parents whether their children will be attending Abington in September before the board makes a decision.

Generally, the smallest classes in the district have between 18 and 19 students, Abington superintendent Amy Sichel said; the largest classes have between 25 and 26 students.

The school district may not have the data about how many students will be attending class this fall, but it does have the funds and the people needed to fill the sections in question, McGarry said.