Waiting List for Language Classes
Forty-three student applications were received for the dual-language kindergarten program at the John M. Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton. Only 24 seats were available, so a lottery was held on July 29 to randomly choose students for the classes.
Robert Hagan, the East Hampton School District's director of learning technology and instruction, conducted the computer-randomized lottery in person, a process that was also broadcast by LTV. He explained that of the 42 total seats in the two dual-language classes, 18 students were placed directly into the classes according to their English proficiency scores. Twenty-four students were awarded seats in the lottery, and there are now 19 on the waiting list.
In the program, students spend half the school day learning their academic subjects solely in Spanish, and then receive instruction in English for the other half. The program received high praise from parents during its pilot year in 2019-20.
Wall Collapse in Sag Harbor
About two weeks ago, the Sag Harbor Learning Center, already plagued with cost overruns and delays of a year past its original opening date, saw a partial collapse of the retaining wall that is under construction behind the building.
"It was a little bit of a setback," said Jeff Nichols, the Sag Harbor School District superintendent. Architects were able to immediately "redesign a specific part of the wall," he said. Mr. Nichols also said he does not expect that the incident will delay the opening of the building past Sept. 1, its most recent targeted completion date. Third-party inspectors will ensure the work is done properly, he said.
Extension Granted for Wainscott
The Wainscott School has received an extension from New York State giving the tiny district extra time to come up with its reopening plan. The recent death of Glenn Walter Haab, the husband of Deborah Haab, the Wainscott superintendent, was a hardship that prevented school officials from being able to complete it by the initial July 31 deadline. The school’s new deadline is tomorrow.
"Please be assured that the staff and the board of trustees are working to complete a reopening plan developed with the safety of our students as our number one priority," the district said in a statement on its website.
School Office Floods
East Hampton School District officials reported Tuesday that the central office building on Long Lane experienced a severe flood because of a plumbing problem over the weekend.
"We have to move out and renovate that," Richard Burns, the district superintendent, said. "We'll be up and running fairly soon." In the meantime, he said, people should be patient when calling the district office, as they may have difficulty reaching anyone by phone.