What are the 5-8 middle school configurations being proposed?
A community based proposal calling for a 5-8 middle school model is being researched by Administration. This concept would create K-4 elementary buildings and either four 5-8 middle schools or two 5-6 and two 7-8 middle schools. At the January 20th Board Dialogue, the Board directed Administration to remove the 5-6 and 7-8 building configuration from further consideration as it required additional transitions for students, especially at-risk and special education students, and has more transportation costs. The Board is still considering two grade configuration models. One configuration would be to maintain the current 6-8 model and consolidate students into three middle school buildings. The second configuration would be to implement the 5-8 model which would keep all four middle schools open but possibly close one or two elementary buildings. In either scenario, the Board recognized the need to redistrict.
