A Small School's Examination: Can Chilmark Attract Others?

By CHRIS BURRELL

They like the small classes, the low student-to-teacher ratio and
the strong feeling of community at the Chilmark School.

But some of the parents surveyed this spring by a new task force
investigating reasons for low enrollment gave the grammar school low
marks in the areas of communication, leadership and staff turnover.

The survey results released this week come after a year of public
scrutiny of the Chilmark School, where a sharp decline in enrollment
sent per-pupil expenses soaring over the $20,000 mark. Only 45 students
enrolled last year at the K-5 school, which is part of the Up-Island
Regional School District.

Faced with cuts in state educational aid, members of the finance
committee in West Tisbury - one of the member towns in the school
district - started pressing Chilmark leaders to shoulder more of
the costs in the district and even consider closing down the school
altogether.

Chilmark leaders quickly rejected that notion, but they formed their
own task force in an effort to bolster the school.

The anonymous survey was mailed out to 103 families with children
aged three to 14, nearly all of them in the towns of Aquinnah and
Chilmark. Of the 58 responses sent back, 36 came from families who had
enrolled a child at the Chilmark School in the last three years.

Most of the respondents - 41 - came from Chilmark. Only
11 surveys were returned from families in Aquinnah, with the remainder
coming from parents in West Tisbury and other Island towns who sent
children to the K-5 school in Chilmark.

But the task force - made up of community members and school
leaders - also heard from a population they were particularly
curious about: parents who chose not to send children to the little
school at Beetlebung Corner. Last year, 26 students from Aquinnah and
Chilmark opted to attend grade school at the West Tisbury School or the
Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School.

"We felt it was an excellent return rate," said task
force chairman Susan Parker, who also serves as Chilmark's sole
representative to the up-Island school committee. Chilmark School
principal Carlos Colley could not be reached for comment this week.

A field director from the Massachusetts Association of School
Committees, James Hardy, assembled the data from the surveys.

The Chilmark School Task Force met with Mr. Hardy last week and is
now drafting recommendations in time for a July 12 meeting of the
up-Island school committee. That meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in
Aquinnah, but a site for the school board meeting has not yet been
determined.

One recommendation likely to surface next month is the creation of a
preschool inside the building, a move aimed at luring up-Island families
into the Chilmark School before they opt for another preschool setting
further down-Island.

When parents of preschool-aged children were asked if they planned
to enroll a child in the Chilmark School, 10 answered yes while 11 said
they would not enroll their children in Chilmark when they reached
kindergarten.

Nine families cited as reasons the simple fact that a sibling or
friend was attending another school. Two respondents said a prior child
enrolled in the Chilmark School was dissatisfied.

"We've made phenomenal progress on the preschool
idea," said Ms. Parker. "There's no preschool in
Chilmark or Aquinnah. We're thinking if we have the preschool, we
could get families from Aquinnah to feel comfortable with the school.
That's a big goal of ours."

Last year, 13 elementary-aged children from Aquinnah took the long
commute to the West Tisbury School and the charter school rather than
attending the Chilmark School.

Data from the survey offer insights into the up-Island community and
their relationship with the small school.

Of the 58 respondents, 15 have children currently enrolled in the
Chilmark School. But 19 families who took the time to answer the 26
questions on the survey - including four open-ended questions
- never had children attend the school.

Nine respondents are still considering sending a child to the
Chilmark School, and nine had children who attended the Chilmark School
but did not graduate. And 15 of the families who returned a completed
survey had children graduate from the school.

So, what did this cross-section of families have to say about the
Chilmark School?

In the plus column, there were few surprises. Echoing the sentiments
heard last winter at a forum held in the foyer of the Chilmark School,
13 families said they picked the school because of small class sizes.
When asked to list assets of the school, 28 survey respondents cited
student-teacher ratios and 13 people listed the "feeling of
community" and the multi-age classroom as strong points.

The quality of the staff was also at the top of the list for 12
respondents.

Interestingly, an almost equal number of families - 10 in all
- mentioned "staff concerns" when asked why their
child did not attend or did not graduate from the Chilmark School.

Since classes are grouped into two grade levels, known as multi-aged
classrooms, there are only three classroom teachers in the school. Ms.
Parker acknowledged this arrangement can strike some parents as a
limitation.

The data report from Mr. Hardy specifically mentions "number
of staff - lack of options for parents" as a complaint.

Problems with communication and leadership also figured heavily on
the list of concerns raised by families who filled out a survey. In less
than 10 years, the school has seen four principals. Staff turnover has
also dogged the Chilmark School: At least six full-time faculty members
have left since 1998.

Ms. Parker said she shares concerns about communication not only
between the school and its parents but also between the school and its
district counterpart in West Tisbury, a much larger K-8 school.

"Families need to feel more comfortable that we're a
region and that West Tisbury is an extension of our school," she
said.

Ms. Parker also said that parents need to feel comfortable
expressing their concerns to the school, its leadership and its
teachers. "We need to find out how to channel concerns, maybe an
ombudsman or a safe place where people feel they can get issues
resolved," she said. "It's a small town."

While many survey respondents voiced confidence in the nurturing
qualities of the Chilmark School - a safe and supportive
atmosphere - Ms. Parker was worried when she saw the numbers who
weren't satisfied with how the school articulates and promotes its
mission.

Similarly high numbers - 13 in all - expressed
dissatisfaction with how school leaders from the advisory council on up
to the principal and Vineyard schools superintendent were doing in the
realm of educational support and leadership for the students.

Ms. Parker said the school's vision needs to be sharpened.
"Mr. Hardy urged [the task force] to decide what you want to do
and do the best job of it," she said.

"People want to send their children to a neighborhood school,
be a part of the community, and they like small classes," she
added. "There's a lot of good here, and we need to pursue
that."