Robert Morris staff describe UPK/preschool changes, Primary Project use and construction challenges

Miss Cornelius, presenting on behalf of Robert Morris, told the Batavia City School District board the school is shifting from a focus on teaching to an emphasis on student learning and proficiency while operating amid an active capital project that has required moving from one half of the building to the other.

“...our focus is really we’re working to shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning as a learning community,” Miss Cornelius said, describing instructional priorities and the school’s use of the district instructional playbook, reflective journaling and professional learning communities to guide the work.

Cornelius outlined three operational pressures caused by construction: changed traffic flow and parking, limited access to some parts of the building (including a temporary loss of the cafeteria and playground access to parts of the site), and temporary loss of in-room bathrooms for some UPK classes. To address those constraints, staff repurposed gym space for cafeteria functions, adjusted bathroom procedures and added late-night hotel-style security (when applicable for off-site trips) for student safety; she said the construction team and building-and-grounds staff are part of regular stakeholder communications.

On early-intervention practice, Cornelius described Primary Project — an evidence-based, playroom-centered intervention used to build resilience and social-emotional skills — and confirmed it is applied to UPK classes (site-based UPK) where staff complete student profiles to determine program eligibility. “Primary project uses evidence based techniques to build resiliency in children and to navigate their social and emotional landscape,” she said.

Cornelius said the district adopted a new preschool curriculum, 3 Chairs for Pre-K, to provide an integrated approach to literacy, math and social-emotional learning rather than combining separate materials. She also reviewed the Quality Assurance Protocol (QAP) process with the New York State Office of Early Learning and said the school is monitoring learning centers, professional learning and progress monitoring; several items were identified as “limited compliance” that staff plan to address during the year.

Board members asked whether Primary Project was used in both preschool and UPK (answer: UPK only, with transferability of language and techniques), whether the YMCA UPK site uses the curriculum (answer: yes), and how the new three-tier curriculum relates to previously used materials (answer: it consolidates several prior tools into a single integrated program).

Cornelius closed by thanking staff and noting improvements in collaboration and early-learning outcomes amid the construction disruptions. No formal board action on curriculum or programming was taken at the meeting.