Permanent Art, Music Class Coming to Mountain Way

The art and music classes at will have a permanent classroom starting this fall, after the board of education approved a contract at last week's meeting to renovate a storage room for the subjects.

For the past three years, the art and music teachers have been using a temporary classroom, and before that the subjects had been taught "on a cart," where the teachers would have to bring in all of the supplies each day on a cart and then cleanup after the class.

But starting in September, the art and music teachers will have a permanent classroom to teach, and will use an old storage room that will get renovated within a few weeks.

The room that was previously used for art and music is now needed for general instruction, after the school saw an increase in students the past three years.

Mountain Way Principal and District Curriculum Coordinator Lindsay Nahm said  three years ago there was a small kindergarten class, so the school dropped down to having three sections of classes. That kindergarten class, now third-graders, has full classes coming behind them and the school needs an extra section added for those students.

Now there are four sections needed for kindergarten, first grade and second grade, Nahm said, which the school hasn't had in three years.

Board President Lee Connor said if the district did not plan to add a new room for art and music, those subjects would have gone back to being "on a cart."

Having a permanent classroom, Nahm said, has many benefits for the students and teachers.

For the art classes, teaching the subjects "on a cart" takes up an extra 10 minutes of class to set up and clean up, and the kids don't have as much time to work on the projects. With the music classes on carts, the students don't have access to as many instruments.

"It limits what the program potential is, versus when they have their own classroom they can set up, they can lead the setup, they can do a lot more," Nahm said.

In addition to enhancing the instruction, Nahm said, having the new classroom will allow the kids an opportunity to get out of their regular classroom on days they have art and music.

"We're just delighted that the superintendent and the business administrator have worked so hard to make it happen," she said. "I think it's going to be great for our art and music program and for the kids to have that dedicated space from now on."

The project approved on Tuesday, July 17 is anticipated to start construction by early August and will be completed by the time the new school year starts in September. The renovations will cost the Morris Plains School District $62,000 and will be completed by G&L Construction.

The items that were previously stored in the storage room will now go into two sheds located at the back of the school that the district recently purchased.

This is the second renovation project to be done recently. A new roof on the gym was completed earlier this summer.