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Teachers and parents urge Timberlane board to pause Unified Arts changes, citing disruption and lack of input
Summary
Dozens of teachers, librarians and parents told the Timberlane board the proposed 6-/12-day Unified Arts rotation would disrupt student routines, reduce library access and make it harder to meet special-education mandates; commenters asked for a collaborative committee and more research before any rollout.
Teachers, librarians and parents filled the Timberlane Regional School District meeting to oppose a proposed change to elementary Unified Arts scheduling and to urge the board to delay implementation.
Teachers described being told about the schedule change in late May and said staff-level UA teams were not meaningfully engaged before the plan was distributed. "Although the UA team at Sandown North ... were not asked for input when the 12 day rotation model was rolled out to us on May 21," teacher Michelle Parker said, urging a representative committee to research and pilot alternatives.
Several librarians told the board the model would reduce students’ regular access to library services. Laura Ross, a Sandown librarian, said the model "would actually have the opposite effect" of strengthening connections: circulation, research instruction and author visits would be harder to schedule and some students would lose regular access to the library.
An occupational therapy assistant, Roberta Monroe, said UA classes provide necessary opportunities for fine motor and sensory work used in therapy; she warned that multi-week gaps between visits could make it difficult to meet mandated services. Jeff Goddard, a PE teacher, said using a 6-day rotation would create windows of five to eight weeks between some rotations depending on the calendar, which would be particularly challenging for special populations.
Parents described how consistency in weekly UA classes supports routines and relationships that students look forward to. "This change would also eliminate or impact valuable collaborations between classroom and unified arts teachers," one parent said, noting interruptions from holidays and early-release days would fragment multi-day blocks.
Speakers asked the board to slow the process, promote site visits, pilot options, and include teachers, principals, parents and students in any redesign. Many thanked the superintendent for pausing the rollout long enough to allow that collaborative work.
The meeting closed with board members proposing a one-year pause while the administration and curriculum committee work with stakeholders to assemble evidence and return a recommendation.
