Small school with big options

Well into the second semester of the school year, eighth-graders in the Nell Holcomb School District are facing a tough decision: where to go to school next year.

Nell Holcomb is one of 75 school districts in Missouri that only serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Departing eighth-graders have the choice of attending school districts in either Jackson or Cape Girardeau, and students say there are many factors that influence their decision.

"Our students are really lucky they have this choice," Nell Holcomb principal Mary Boeller said. "Both Cape and Jackson school districts are good, and we find our students do quite well once they leave here."

Going from a district of 317 students to Jackson, where there are 795 students at R.O. Hawkins Junior High, or Cape Girardeau, where there are 1,302 students at Central High School, is a major transition for most incoming ninth-graders, educators say.

Expecting the worst

Nell Holcomb eighth-grader Hannah Kinder said she doesn't know what her life will be like when she transfers to Central High School next year, but she's expecting the worst.

"I think there will be harder classes, more homework and less attention from teachers," Kinder said.

Kinder said she chose Central High School because her father, Mark Kinder, graduated from there.

"It's sort of a tradition in our family," said Barbara Kinder, Hannah's mother. "I do have some concerns about Hannah going to a larger school, but for the most part I'm looking forward to it."

In 1999 to 2001, the vast majority of Nell Holcomb students chose to attend Jackson. The trend shifted in 2002, with 12 students going to Central High School and eight going to the junior high in Jackson. Cape Girardeau educators credited their new high school for the change.

Outside of parochial schools, Nell Holcomb represents the only example of school choice in Cape Girardeau County.

The school, which is located on Highway 177 a few miles north of Cape Girardeau, employs 30 teachers. The campus is divided between a building for kindergarten through fifth-graders and a sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade building.

Each year, the district must pay tuition for Nell Holcomb students enrolled in Jackson or Cape Girardeau schools -- $4,686 per student enrolled at Jackson, $5,000 per student enrolled in Cape Girardeau.

For the current school year, the district has paid more than $500,000 in tuition for the 72 students enrolled in Jackson and the 47 enrolled in Cape Girardeau. The tuition money comes from local tax revenue, superintendent David Fuemmeler said.

"It's a lot of money and a burden, just like any bill," Fuemmeler said. "But it would cost us that amount, if not more, to staff and operate our own high school."

Although state law requires the district to provide transportation to only one district, Nell Holcomb buses students to both Cape Girardeau and Jackson schools because of their close proximity to each other, Boeller said.

Eighth-graders actually have the option of attending any school in Cape Girardeau County or the surrounding counties, but Boeller said almost all choose Cape Girardeau or Jackson schools.

"It's quite an adjustment for them," said Jane Stovall, who has a daughter in eighth grade at Nell Holcomb and a son in 10th grade at Jackson.

"At Nell Holcomb, it's more of a family environment, and all of a sudden they're in much larger classes with different kids and a whole new school system," said Stovall, who is also a teacher at Nell Holcomb.

Stovall said her daughter, Kate, has decided to attend Central High School because of its athletic program.

Most students, like 14-year-old Anwar Glenn, said they chose a particular district based on where older siblings attended.

"My brother, Eddie, is at Central. I'm not too worried about switching schools, because I know his friends there," Glenn said.

Glenn also likes the idea of attending school in Central's new state-of-the-art facility.

Representative visits

For those students struggling to choose a school, representatives from R.O. Hawkins Junior High School, which houses eighth- and ninth-graders in Jackson, and Central High School, which serves ninth- through 12th-graders in Cape Girardeau, visit Nell Holcomb during the months of January and February every year.

"It's a unique situation, but both Cape and Jackson districts are very good," said Tom Berkbigler, a counselor at Central Junior High School.

Prior to this year, when Cape Girardeau schools underwent a total grade reconfiguration and ninth graders moved from Central Junior High to the high school, Berkbigler had worked with Nell Holcomb students transferring to his district.

"Cape and Jackson have similar curriculums. Our main difference is facilities," Berkbigler said. "And we have easier access to the vocational school because it's right next to the high school."

Brenda Etzold, counselor at the junior high in Jackson, said it's important for students to realize what each school has to offer, but it's not a recruitment effort by either district.

"There's not any push to get students to attend one school or another," Etzold said. "Most of the students already know where they want go before I show up."

Thirteen-year-old Jasen Price said he has known for several years that he wanted to transfer to the Jackson School District.

"I saw that my older brother got a great education there," said Price, whose brother, Brett Price, graduated in 2001 from Jackson High School.

Price's mother, Brenda Price, said she allowed Jasen to make the choice on his own.

"With my older son, we wanted him to go to Jackson, but we gave Jasen the option," Brenda Price said. "I think they're both good schools, and I think Nell Holcomb prepares students well."

Jasen Price said he isn't worried about starting over at a new school.

"I think it will be good to make new friends, and they have more extracurricular activities there," he said.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128