Jackson district may realign its elementary schools

Change soon may come to the Jackson School District's elementary, middle and junior-high schools.

The district is considering a reconfiguration of grade levels that would align the classes across all five elementary schools so each would consist of kindergarten through fourth grade or kindergarten through fifth grade.

If the former option goes through, the middle school would consist of fifth- and sixth-graders. The junior-high school would be home to seventh- and eighth-graders, and ninth-graders would become a part of Jackson Senior High School.

The high-school currently consists of 10th through 12th grades, junior high is eighth and ninth grades, and middle school is sixth and seventh grades.

North, South and East Elementary are kindergarten through fifth grade; Orchard Drive Elementary and Gordonville Elementary are kindergarten through second grade; Millersville Elementary is kindergarten through third grade, and West Lane Elementary is third through fifth grade.

This exploration of options is part of a facilities plan underway at the district.

"One of the goals that's outlined in their strategic plan is elementary-school alignment," said Aaron Harte, an architect at Incite Design Studio that's putting together the facilities plan. "That includes grade levels -- trying to get them all aligned in a similar way."

Superintendent John Link said the goal is to free classroom space and reduce class sizes, citing research that says smaller class size is directly related to more engaged students.

Whether the elementary schools will be aligned to include fifth grade or stop at fourth grade across the board remains to be seen.

"We're still going through our data, still looking at plans with our architectural firm, speaking with our demographer," Link said.

It's a three-phase plan that could take up to 10 years to complete, so Link said he's concerned about getting it right.

To ensure success, he said the school district has held several meetings with school and community groups and sent surveys that have received 380 to 400 responses.

"We've had a lot of great conversations," Link said, but responses about how the elementary schools should be aligned have been split down the middle.

"The big thing is we all understand that Jackson is a growing community," Link said. "We just have to make sure we have enough classrooms for our kiddos. And if we can free some up, that'd be great."

Harte said if the plan were approved, most elementary schools would align during phase one.

Schools outside the city center, such as Millersville, may not follow suit until phase two, he said.

The facilities plan includes miscellaneous improvements across the district, such as building additions or renovations and general improvements and upgrades.

Link said the district has no plans to build new facilities but will expand current facilities as needed to accommodate growth.

The district hopes to have a plan finalized before the next school board meeting Dec. 13 so the final draft may be presented to the board.

bbrown@semissourian.com

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