Ogdensburg school plans to split third-grade class

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Borough School plans to go through with a plan to split the third-grade class for the 2015-16 school year, interim Superintendent Michael Ryder announced on Tuesday, July 14.

A parent inquired if the Board of Education was still following through with splitting the third grade class. Parents' is they don’t want their children coming home with homework, and feeling frustrated because they were not able to complete their homework in school because of misbehaviors going on in the classrooms.

The parents said that at the March meeting, former Interim Superintendent Ernest Palestis said there was a plan to split the third-grade class into smaller groups.

"There are a lot of loopholes in the schedule at this time and the Board of Education is still working on the personnel schedule," Ryder said. "We do plan to go forward with the split classrooms and there will be no deviation from this plan."

A parent questioned the Board of Education if there was going to be a split homeroom or just a split in the core classroom. The parent’s primary concern for the split is because of the misbehavior of some of the children, which in turn affects their own children’s ability to concentrate.

Ryder also explained to the Board of Education, the parents and the public that even if you split the classrooms there are no perfect classrooms.

“Splitting classrooms will help but it’s not a cure all for misbehaviors," he said. "The misbehaviors still have to be addressed. The students need to be provided with student interests and student driven work.”