FAYETTEVILLE — Middle schools will convert to fifth and sixth grades and junior high schools will become seventh and eighth grades in 2015, the School Board decided Thursday in a 5-2 vote.
Jim Halsell and Becky Purcell voted against that configuration, saying they preferred creating five campuses for fifth through eighth grades.
The vote was a disappointment to some parents, primarily whose children attend Butterfield Trail Elementary School, who adamantly supported the alternative to configure middle level education for fifth through eighth grades.
“I don’t like it. I think our kids will be better served by five through eight,” Stacy Robinson said. “We’ll have to do what is best for our own children. I am disappointed there was no open and honest discussion about what we should do for our kids.”
Robinson was one of a handful of parents who attended the board meeting, in contrast to the 20 or more who have attended earlier meetings to speak in favor of the fifth through eighth proposal.
Purcell said she didn’t see in the study process an acknowledgment of the community’s high regard for health and an increase in opportunities to bike or walk rather than drive a car.
The committee studying the issue also overlooked the input of parents, Purcell said.
Halsell said the district “may have missed an opportunity to center on what is best for kids by not beginning with the end in mind,” noting the five-eight concept was better.
“The trend nationally is to have three transitions — elementary, middle school and high school,” he said noting among the 15,257 middle schools in the U.S. in 2010, 63 percent serves grades six through eight.
Kay Jacoby restated the recommendation presented to the board in March, saying a committee of teachers and principals studied the issue for a year, coming to the conclusion the five-six and seven-eight was best for Fayetteville.
She said the study committee recommended a transition plan be developed for fifth and seventh grades; a staffing pattern be developed as soon as possible so teachers will know where they will be; and that middle school concepts of teaming, developing a sense of belonging and building relationships be employed in the junior high schools as they are emphasized in middle schools now.
Recent reports have indicated there’s no definitive research on configuring middle level education, she said. The teaching and learning in the building is more important than the grades lumped together.
At A Glance
Attendance Lines
The Fayetteville School Board decided Thursday how to configure middle level education in local schools, starting in 2015 when ninth grade is moved from junior high school to high school. The board will wait until closer to the transition to decide attendance lines.
Source: Staff Report