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Oyster River board hears music-program review, time-on-learning update and temporary middle-school schedule shifts
Summary
Administrators presented a time-on-learning review tied to an upcoming ELA adoption, the music department outlined a teacher-on-special-assignment pilot and a music handbook, and the middle-school principal described a two-year staffing reallocation to absorb an incoming cohort while keeping 28 teachers.
At the May 6 board meeting, district instructional leaders presented updates on curriculum planning, fine arts programming and a temporary middle-school schedule adjustment to handle shifting enrollment.
Assistant Superintendent Suzanne and elementary principals Misty Lowe and David Goldsmith reviewed the district’s work on "time on learning," a board goal connected to an upcoming ELA program adoption. They compared Oyster River’s instructional minutes with neighboring districts and outlined next steps, including piloting an ELA choice and planning professional development for summer and fall implementation.
The music department’s teacher-on-special-assignment (TOSA) pilot was presented by Andrea von Oyen, who described a year of program review, a newly published music handbook, and efforts to increase 3→12 retention into high-school ensembles. The presentation covered inventory work for expensive instruments, proposals for first-year instrument lessons, and a possible centralized web presence for fine-arts information.
"We decided we really wanted this kind of one-stop shop to be able to have community members ... find out a little bit more about our district and our music department," Andrea said, summarizing the handbook’s purpose.
Principal Bill Sullivan gave a staffing and master-schedule update for the middle school, explaining a temporary reallocation to manage a large incoming fifth-grade cohort while preserving current staffing at 28 teachers. Sullivan said the plan will shift one four-person team from seventh/eighth into fifth/sixth for two years to keep class sizes appropriate and then rotate teams back when enrollment stabilizes.
Board members asked about preserving MTSS and intervention time under the adjusted schedule; administrators said the reallocation preserves protected instructional minutes and increases "bobcat" time for interventions. The board expressed appreciation for the music program’s progress and the middle-school plan’s effort to minimize teacher reassignment.
These presentations were informational; the board did not take formal policy action on the curriculum adoption or the TOSA role at the May 6 meeting but directed staff to continue implementation planning and report back.
