Recently, the Board of Education approved mobile units to be placed at the elementary schools. Kinsner Elementary will receive one mobile unit, which has two seperate classrooms.
Why is this helpful for Kinsner?
We are limited with large group space. Each classroom is filled and we aren't losing any "bubble" groups next year. A "bubble" is when one cohort (or grade) is larger, so they have five classes instead of four.
As you know, our stage is now the music room and band and orchestra often practice in the atrium (the hallway). We repurposed the Media Center and cafeteria to double as extra music and art spaces. Our roof is on a slant, so we can't place any groups up there (sorry, trying to make light of a dim situation).
Next year, we are excited to welcome back half-day Kindergarten! But that does mean we are losing another large group space. The mobile unit will provide two additional classrooms to serve our students.
Who is going into the mobile unit?
We've had a lot of discussion regarding who will be placed in the mobile unit. We are considering factors such as general safety, age appropriateness, maximum usage, etc. It is equipped with AC and heat but does not have a restroom. For access, it also involves going in and out of the building. All that said, we'd like to avoid having younger students, any homerooms or special needs intervention small groups from using this space.
The plan is to have our 3rd-5th grade gifted math population use one of the classrooms (sessions are approximately 60 minutes daily). The other classroom would be used for band / orchestra, which gets them out of the hallway. Rest assured that band / orchestra and gifted math instruction does not occur at the same time. When our band or orchestra is not using that space, it will double as a location for one-on-one instruction from support services such as Mindfully, AIMS testing, audiology, etc.
Where will this be located?
The unit will likely be placed at the front of the school near the current bus line (in the grass area, outside the K-1 hallway). We explored using the courtyard behind the school but due to the slope of the hills, transportation is unable to maneuver around the bend of the school. We looked at adding it near the blacktop, but that limits space for kids to play at recess.
