To solve the problem of Montauk School parents needing care for their prekindergarten-age children after the in-school program ends at 2 p.m., the school district and Project Most are working together for the first time.
Project Most, the nonprofit organization dedicated to affordable after-school and weekend programming for families across East Hampton Town, recently took over the child care program at the Montauk Playhouse, and its staff noticed a trend.
"Some parents were picking their children up at 2 p.m. and driving them to the child care center for afternoon care," Rebecca Morgan Taylor, executive director of Project Most, said in an email last week. "By licensing the public school as a child care facility, we can send staff to the public school and care for the children there. This saves working families from leaving their place of work to drive them to the child care center."
She said she approached Joshua Odom, the Montauk School's superintendent and principal, to work together on licensing the school itself to provide that continuity of care on site using Project Most staff for one more hour each day. Now, parents who also have older children will be able to pick all of them up at the same time.
"This will bridge an additional gap for us and for parents. Now that Project Most is in the Playhouse, it's a no-brainer to partner with them where we can," said Mr. Odom, who became familiar with the organization while he was an assistant principal at the Springs School, which relies heavily on Project Most. "They're a great program. I've always had great experiences with them."
Prekindergarten enrollment for the 2024-25 school year is around 28 students, which Mr. Odom said is typical for the district, though fluctuations are likely between now and the start of school in September. Enrollment in the other grades, kindergarten through eighth, is just under 300, which the superintendent said is "holding steady."
Curriculum Changes
Also at the Montauk School, a science-curriculum change is on the horizon for the coming school year.
Joe Malave, an earth science teacher who built the annual science fair into a popular community attraction, retired in June after about 25 years with the district, according to Mr. Odom. "It became a robust program that we plan to continue," Mr. Odom said.
This had the administration thinking creatively about how to find Mr. Malave's successor, and the solution was to offer eighth graders "living environment," a Regents-level biology course, instead of earth science. It will be taught by Keeler Otero, a special education teacher in Montauk who also happens to have a teaching certificate in biology. Students can then take earth science when they get to East Hampton High School.
"This is a guarantee that if you are in advanced science in eighth grade, you continue on an advanced path when you get to the high school at least for freshman year," Mr. Odom said.
Montauk is also planning to expand its use of a special education model known as integrated co-teaching, which pairs a general education teacher with a special education teacher in classrooms where students need the most help based on their individual education plans.
"That model, due to student need, is expanding to more grade levels," Mr. Odom said. "We're planning on investing in some professional development for the teachers there. . . . That special ed teacher, their role is differentiation. Essentially, everyone learns differently, and the more modes through which they can receive and work through information and process it, it benefits everyone."
The science and special ed curriculums aren't the only areas getting some attention in Montauk. The district's nearly 100-year-old school building will also undergo some updates in the coming months, including handicap-accessibility and mechanical upgrades. Montauk took bids earlier this year for architectural services and hired BBS Architects, whose work Mr. Odom was familiar with when he worked at Springs.
"We're kind of in the infancy stages of that, but I'm excited. There are a lot of big things coming up for the Montauk School," he said. "We're being really intentional in how we do things, taking our time and making sure that when we make a decision, it really benefits the community, benefits the school, and benefits the kids."