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Are 6th graders 'too young' for middle school?
Posted: 08.23.2011 at 10:12 PM
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Liverpool may change where 6th and 9th grade students are taught.
Where some Liverpool students go to school, could be changing.
Tuesday night, parents got the chance to weigh in on a proposal, which would send 6th graders to the middle schools and 9th graders to the high school.
Renee Curkendall has 5 kids in the district right now. She says 6th graders are too young to be in school with middle school aged kids. "We remain in Liverpool because it's not K-4 or K-5," said Curkendall. "It's one of the huge positives we see with the school district. Because of the way it's configured the needs of my children are easily met."
Right now, 6th graders are taught in their respective elementary schools and all the 9th graders go to school in what's called the Annex.
"Moving the 9th grade into the high school creates greater opportunity from the classroom. There is more available to them," said School Board President Don Cook.
The move would shuffle hundreds of students, but kids would only have to transition to a new school 3 times, instead of 4. Cook says the study suggests those transitions can be tough on kids.
If the district decides to put this plan in place, it may be a couple years down the road. At the earliest, parents, teachers and students could see changes by Fall 2012.
On September 12, the school board will vote on whether to accept this report. If they do, school officials will then look at how to implement the plan and whether it makes fiscal sense.