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Carney: 43 students transferring to Aquebogue this year

Aquebogue-Elementary-School

Riverhead School District officials have confirmed 43 students will transfer to Aquebogue Elementary School this school year. The option was offered to Phillips and Roanoke elementary school parents a few weeks ago since the state has declared both schools as “underperforming.”

Superintendent Nancy Carney said in an email the arrangement won’t affect current teacher assignments in the three schools and all class sizes will remain “under contractual limits and comparable to the rest of the buildings.”

For second grade, she said another teacher will be hired and a fifth section will be added.

[Related story: Low test scores at Phillips, Roanoke could mean transfers to Aquebogue]

[Editorial: Poor communication and notice — a familiar story]

The deadline for parents to request the transfer was Friday. The superintendent also provided the following 2016-17 enrollment information for Aquebogue Elementary School:

Kindergarten

Transfer students: 12

Total students: 88

Sections: 4

Class size: 22 students

First Grade

Transfer students: 11

Total students: 89

Sections: 4

Class size: 22 to 23 students

Second Grade

Transfer students: 8

Total students: 107

Sections: 5

Class size: 21 to 22 students

Third Grade

Transfer students: 7

Total students: 87

Sections: 4

Class size: 21 to 22 students

Fourth Grade

Transfer students: 5

Total students: 102

Sections: 4

Class size: 25 to 26 students

After specific student demographic groups — including Hispanic, African American, economically disadvantages, students with disabilities and limited English proficient students — “underperformed” on state English Language Arts and math assessments in April 2015, all schools in the Riverhead School District, with the exception of Aquebogue, were designated Focus Schools.

Additionally, the district as a whole is now considered a Focus District.

The federal government has designated Phillips and Roanoke as “Title I” schools since they have a high percentage of low-income families. Because Riley isn’t considered a Title I school, those students don’t have the option to transfer to Aquebogue, the superintendent has said.

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Photo: Aquebogue Elementary School on Main Road. (Credit: Krysten Massa / August 2016)