Penfield principal unveils middle‑school course guide and proposes shift from house to grade model

Principal Tracy Savine presented a new Bay Trail Middle School course guide and a proposed shift from the building’s long‑standing mixed‑grade “house” system toward a grade‑level cohort model at the Penfield Central School District board meeting on March 24.

"The number one goal in developing this course guide was to help students, families and staff understand the scope of courses and therefore providing more detailed descriptions," Savine told the board, laying out a digital guide designed for family access, clear course descriptions, and links to counselors and department contacts.

The guide, Savine said, will explain New York State unit‑of‑study requirements, outline acceleration pathways (single and double acceleration in math and science), and list supports and interventions available through the district’s MTSS process. She highlighted student artwork on the guide’s cover and said the resource will be posted online and distributed to families ahead of course request windows.

Savine described scheduling constraints under the current house system that have produced high levels of cross‑housing: because of specialized programming and mandated supports, many students must travel between houses for particular classes rather than remaining consistently in one house. She cited district data showing only about 30% of students are "purely housed" under present scheduling patterns and said that most of those are sixth graders.

Board members praised the guide’s aims. A board member who reviewed the document said the presentation conveyed "collaboration, clarity, consistency, and continuity" and called the digital format a way to promote more informed conversations among students, counselors and parents.

During questions, Board Member Moretti asked a clarifying procedural question: "Still going to be called a middle school?" Savine responded that the district will retain the middle‑school identity while adopting a cohort model that mirrors secondary grade‑level structures.

On implementation, Savine said the district will not relocate teachers en masse and that administrators and counselors would continue to loop with students; the grade‑level change focuses on aligning teams, collaborative meeting structures and scheduling to reduce disruptive crossing and strengthen MTSS collaborative work. She said the district plans stakeholder feedback sessions, will bring the guide to faculty and PTA meetings, and scheduled a family information event for May 18 as part of rollout planning.

The board did not take formal action to adopt a permanent organizational change that evening; Savine characterized the plan as the result of a stakeholder feedback cycle and said an implementation plan remains to be finalized following further faculty, student and parent input.