Shortly after members of the Herricks Board of Education suggested possibly putting a Gemini teacher back into the 2013-2014 school budget during their meeting at the community center on March 7, some parents said they would prefer not having the program at all but instead looking at another form of enrichment.
One Herricks parent said that they didn’t think the Gemini program would work well with just one teacher. The parent suggested that the program wasn’t ideal with two teachers. As a result of having fewer teachers, the parent suggested that the Gemini students were not able to bond as well with their teachers.
“I think you really need to think of the enrichment program for those who need it,” a parent said.
The suggestion was that if three teachers could not be restored to the program, then perhaps another mode of enrichment needs to be thought of.
Another parent echoed that the Gemini program in its current iteration is down to its bare bones.
“You should either have it or think of alternatives,” the parent said. “To deprive them of this enrichment I think is completely unfair.”
When the idea that the board was reinstituting a Gemini teacher because of the numerous letters the board has received from parents in an effort to appease them, both vice president James Gounaris and board member Nancy Feinstein said that was not the case. Gounaris said that the likelihood of the program coming back if it is cut is slim and that the board wanted to think about saving this valuable program.
“The kids deserve us and the administrators to do the best we can," Gounaris said. “We’re willing to reall reach out for the kids’ sake and we'll see what works.”
One parent said that he appreciated “the extent you’re trying to preserve it... One teacher’s better than none.”
