MIDDLE SCHOOL TO BE SUBMITTED TO VOTERS

PADUCAH, Ky. Cape Girardeau's Board of Education wants to make its dream of a middle school a reality.

At its annual retreat being held this weekend in Paducah, the school board made a commitment to trying to improve education for Cape Girardeau children by building a new middle school. As a result, the board will ask voters to approve a bond issue to finance the new building.

In addition, the board is considering other facility needs, including:

Upgrading of existing elementary buildings and/or construction of a new elementary building.

Air conditioning schools across the district.

Improving athletic facilities as outlined by an athletic task force.

Updating technology in classrooms.

Reviewing seismic designs of the buildings.

The details about the proposed middle school and other facility changes have not been hammered out. The retreat ends today with a discussion of strategic planning and budgetary concerns.

Superintendent of Schools Neyland Clark said that after the retreat ends he will draft an official summary of the board's directive about the middle school and other facility concerns, and then begin a plan to make them come about.

"We will meet with administrators, board members, staff, and we'll include parent representative," Clark said. "We will also have to talk about a bond issue."

Clark has said a new middle school building would cost in the neighborhood of $6 million to $8 million.

Board member Gwen Bennett said, "We also have to have a plan to educate the public about middle schools."

Board member John Campbell said: "I think the board is committed to building at least a middle school. We're not sure what the grade configuration will be yet, but we think Cape Girardeau needs a middle school."

Board member Carolyn Kelley said: "All the research on middle schools has already been done. We have looked at this. Some of us have gone to national meetings about this."

A committee studied the feasibility and desirability of a middle school for Cape Girardeau in 1989. That group recommended that the board establish a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students.

At the retreat, board members discussed which grades should be included in a middle school. They discussed grouping sixth, seventh and eighth graders or grouping fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders in a middle school.

They did not reach a decision about which grade configuration was best for Cape Girardeau.

Before reaching a consensus to proceed with a middle school building plan for the district, the board discussed concerns about the number of transitions Cape Girardeau students must make between elementary school and high school.

The system currently groups kindergarten through sixth grade at elementary buildings, seventh grade at a middle school, eighth and ninth grade at a junior high and grades 10-12 at a high school.

Clark said: "We lose a semester at the middle school when the sixth-graders come over. Just as soon as we get them settled down, we move them again to the junior high and they lose another semester there. And the ninth graders are getting `quasi-senioritis' before they move over to the senior high."

"I don't think that enhances the process of learning," Kelley said.

Board member Ed Thompson suggested a dual-building middle school with fifth and sixth graders in one building and seventh and eighth graders in another. The two facilities would share common areas housing laboratories, a cafeteria and a gymnasium, he said.

"I would like to see us get kids together a lot earlier," Thompson said.

Board members emphasized that the decision to pursue a middle school was made because they believe the idea of middle-level education is valid.

Campbell said: "That program of basics plus discovery will sell itself. But before we have an architect's design, we need to have the educational program for that school outlined. That program will drive the design of the school."

Moving children from the elementary schools to a middle school will free up classroom space at elementary buildings. Board members and administrators have said the district is out of space for reduction of class size and implementation of new projects at its elementary buildings.

Board members were quick to add that the decision for a middle school is not driven by the need for additional space.

"If we need elementary space, we should build an elementary building," Campbell said early in the discussion. The board believes a middle school is better for Cape Girardeau's children, members said.

Bennett said when she first considered changing Cape Girardeau's middle school, she was opposed. "I was not convinced about a middle school until we went to St. Louis and I saw for myself what could happen," said Bennett.

Board member Lyle Davis said when he ran for the school board, he was not convinced of the need for a middle school either. He added that since serving on the board, he has changed his mind also.