Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Third School to Go on Year-Round Schedule

A third school in the Newhall School District will use a year-round, multitrack schedule in an effort to relieve overcrowding beginning next year.

Old Orchard Elementary School is scheduled to start on the modified schedule in July, 1994, following a 4-1 vote Tuesday night by the school board.

Half of the district’s six elementary schools are now committed to proceed with the modified schedules. Valencia Valley and Wiley Canyon schools will begin year-round, multitrack programs in July.

School board members chose Old Orchard over other schools in the district because they believe that parents there will support the year-round schedule. “Old Orchard has been involved in looking at year-round, multitrack scheduling. There seems to be a relatively high level of acceptance for multitrack,” said Mike McCabe, school board president.

Shifting students to the four tracks, where one of the tracks is on vacation at all times, is expected to increase the school’s capacity of 660 students, making room for 132 more.

Betty Granger, principal of Old Orchard Elementary School, said the school now has 770 students. “Our school is very overcrowded for its size. I think it’s a good move for us,” Granger said.

District enrollment is expected to outgrow available classroom space by the 1994-95 school year, said Supt. Michael McGrath. The construction of a 945-student capacity elementary school in Stevenson Ranch by 1995 is expected to accommodate additional enrollment.

Board member Pat Willett dissented Tuesday, suggesting the overcrowding was temporary.

Seven portable classrooms have been added to the site. Although portables extend classroom space, they do not relieve the usage of library, cafeteria and playground areas, school officials said.

Pinetree Elementary School is the only Santa Clarita Valley school now on the year-round, multitrack program. The Canyon Country school, which is within the Sulphur Springs School District, switched to the schedule in July, 1991.

“You need a lot of community support to make it work,” said Marc Winger, assistant superintendent of instructional services for the Sulphur Springs School District. “Communication is the key to success and the most difficult part. Once people get on their own track, on their own vacation schedules, they really like it.”

Winger said the major concern among parents was not about the multitrack program itself, but the focus of local child care, sports programs and recreation activities on traditional school schedules and vacations.

“It has gone very well,” said Pinetree Principal Judy Heyn. “People here seem to like it a lot. We feel that it has been a real benefit for the kids.”