Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Steven Sarrette, 9, joins his music class in the Foothill School cafeteria. The former music room has been turned into a classroom to help accommodate an influx of new students.

Foothill School stretches to hold influx of students

By Tim Persyn

Although the music room, physical-education room, and small-group instruction and parent meeting rooms are now classrooms, Foothill Elementary School was able to adjust to a significant increase in enrollment this fall.

However, Principal Louise Levy said the school is now utilizing all classroom space, with another enrollment increase expected in the fall. This leaves Levy wondering about everything from how she can maintain a family atmosphere on campus to how she can schedule school functions.

Levy has watched her school's enrollment increase from between 390 and 400 at the end of the 1994-95 school year to about 450 as of Feb. 2.

"We had to outfit three rooms that had never been used as classrooms and now cannot be used for other activities," she said.

Music courses are now held in the cafeteria, P.E. is held outside, and parent groups meet in the teacher workroom.

Other adjustments included hiring another secretary and instituting an additional lunch period. All the while, Levy is attempting to promote a feeling of solidarity in the expanding community. "I try to keep a feeling of family. I try to learn the students' names and
give a hug and hello," she said.

What significantly complicates the future picture for Foothill is that enrollment in the Saratoga Union School District is expected to grow again in 1996-97, and Foothill is the school with the greatest capacity to expand. So, Foothill may need to make even more room.

"We're targeting Foothill for major growth," said Superintendent Mary Gardner. "Argonaut has the largest enrollment, and Saratoga is at capacity." Saratoga and Argonaut are the other two elementary schools in the district.

Barbara McGee, administrative assistant to the superintendent, said the district will have to look at its options and make a decision about how best to accommodate the increased enrollment.

"At Foothill, we could bring in modular buildings [a modern version of portables] or break down labs to make room," she said. "But not all the new students will go to Foothill. Some can be absorbed by other schools, while some might go to private schools."

School board member Jill Hunter said it is especially difficult to make plans for increases in enrollment next year because no one knows how many new students will reside in the new developments going up around Saratoga. "We speculate that we will have 30 to 50 new homes in Saratoga for the 1996-97 year, but who knows how many kids will be living in them?"

McGee said the district usually plans for about 50 new students a year, but that does not account for residents of new housing developments. With the new homes being built, enrollment could exceed that standard estimate.

While district officials will ultimately decide how to accommodate increased enrollment, Levy evaluated the options she thought her school had for accommodating more students. "If we are going to grow, we would need portables," Levy said.

Gardner said district officials are studying their facilities now and will decide in the next couple of months on whether to bring in more modulars. In addition, they will decide in August whether to hire more teachers or open additional classrooms.

For Levy, all the worry about accommodating more students is not without a bright side. "The increased enrollment has brought new families, new resources and seven new teachers. It has enriched our environment," Levy said.