School transition seems smooth
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Students arriving at Slippery Rock Elementary School for the first day of classes Tuesday morning were greeted with high fives from their principal.
While the enthusiasm energized all the students to begin a new year of learning, the warm welcome was particularly important for the former Har-Mer Elementary School students adjusting to a new building.
Slippery Rock welcomed more than 90 new students and a couple of faculty members from the now closed elementary school in Harrisville.
While there was some controversy in the spring about the Slippery Rock School District closing the school, all the attention on the first day of class Tuesday was on the students.
“I think the kids are having a warm welcoming,” said Kristen Malenky, a third-grade teacher. “I think everyone will have a good year.”
Malenky was one of six teachers at Har-Mer to relocate to other schools in the district following the closure.
But it wasn't the first time she has been at Slippery Rock Elementary School since she just taught there two years earlier.
“I was actually in the very same room before,” she said.
The already close connection between the two schools, which shared various personnel including the principal, nurse, and guidance counselor, seemed to make the transition a little easier for the students.
“I think we'll have a fairly smooth transition,” said Superintendent Kathy Nogay.Students were given opportunities during the summer to visit the school and to meet the teachers to ease the transition.Nogay said these opportunities to visit were a successful idea.“I think everyone is ready and prepared,” she said.Several parents of the children changing schools seemed to agree with Nogay.“I think it's going well,” said Danell Shidemantle, a mother from Harrisville. “It's been a good transition.”Shidemantle's daughter, Kara, is entering first grade after spending kindergarten at Har-Mer.Kristen Hartle's daughter, Ellie, is entering third grade at Slippery Rock after starting her first couple years of schooling at Har-Mer.Hartle, also of Harrisville, said the school did a good job making the transition easier for the children and parents.“They did a nice job prepping the kids by allowing them to come by the school over summer,” she said. “I think they've done a really nice job with all of this.”Har-Mer, which had declining enrollment, was closed in the spring as a cost-cutting measure.
Slippery Rock Elementary Principal Herb Basham, who also oversaw students at Har-Mer before the closure, said the move just made sense for the school district and was in the best interest of the students.“It's a good thing,” he said of the merger. “We have the resources here, and we can better service the students now.”To help balance out students with the district's other primary school, Moraine Elementary, Slippery Rock moved about 55 students to that school in Prospect.Those students also have made a smooth transition into a new school.“They all seem to be excited,” said Matt Lafko, principal with the school. “The new students here have had a lot of positive things to say so far.”Slippery Rock Elementary has about 460 students this year, while Moraine has about 450.
