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Trustees Ready to Sign Off on Middle School Shift: Dallas ISD: Many Parents Upset About Plan to Move Sixth-Graders

Posted on: Thursday, 26 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Kent Fischer, The Dallas Morning News

Jan. 26--About half of Dallas public school sixth-graders will move from their elementary schools to middle schools next year under a proposal that trustees are expected to approve tonight.

The reconfiguration would send sixth-graders from 56 elementary schools and learning centers to 17 middle schools, beginning next school year.

DISD officials say the shift has educational benefits for sixth-graders, but many parents are upset by some part of the plan -- either having to shift to a new school or having a sixth-grade child in the same school as eighth-graders.

The shift is part of a larger plan to adjust school attendance zones and feeder patterns as the district prepares to open 12 schools in August.

The proposal will allow the district to reduce crowding at many elementary campuses and make more efficient use of space at larger middle schools, district spokesman Donald Claxton said.

He said the shift to middle school also has educational benefits for sixth-graders.

"We'd like to get those kids into a secondary school environment sooner," he said.

The National Middle School Association says most middle schools around the country already have sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders together in the same school.Research by the association states that most principals believe that a middle school with grades six through eight is ideal when coupled with programs that allow teachers to team up and provide special programs, like small group work. Mr. Claxton said DISD plans to do some of those things. Sixth-graders generally will not mix with older students at their new schools, he said.

"They'll be in separate sheltered areas," he said. "We've heard the parents' concerns, and we've tried to address them."

All but four middle schools will house sixth-graders by the 2007-08 school year, according to DISD's Web site.

The change is causing anxiety among some parents who want their children in smaller, more intimate elementary schools. One parent group suspects the move will lead to the closures of its learning center in the coming years. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has already put forth a plan to close two small, expensive learning centers in southern Dallas.

Joan Kimber, PTA president at John F. Kennedy Learning Center, said moving sixth-graders out of that school will leave the building nearly half empty. A half-empty learning center, she said, is easy to close.

Timing concerns

"We're just finding out about this, and the vote is this week," Mrs. Kimber said. "I suspect an ulterior motive."

Mr. Claxton said the district began laying the groundwork for the changes more than two years ago. Three schools made the switch this year, he said. An additional 17 schools will also be changed down the road.

"We began holding public meetings about this two Novembers ago," Mr. Claxton said, "and it has come before the board for discussion numerous times over the years."

Trustee Joe May has met with parents from Kennedy Learning Center. He said the district did not do a good job of explaining the intent of the changes.

"The main concern I heard was the splitting up of the kids," Mr. May said. "The other thing I heard is they didn't have a comfort level with the sixth-graders being moved to a school with eighth-graders."Parent Marilyn Sanchez plans to complain about the proposed changes at tonight's meeting. Two of her children would have to leave Stemmons Elementary School, which she says is about a half-mile from her home, to go to Tolbert Elementary, about 1 ½ miles away.

"I need to cross a railroad track and two major streets just to get to Tolbert," Ms. Sanchez said.

The proposal also would affect Ms. Sanchez's daughter, who would leave Molina High School to attend Kimball High School.

"She will be separating from her graduating class," Ms. Sanchez said, adding that she is aware of the necessity to shift boundaries to deal with overcrowding.

"But the way they do it, shuffling students from one area to another -- we haven't solved anything," she said.

Students in mind

Trustee Edwin Flores said that he understands parents' concerns but that the plan is the best option for the most students.

"The conversion sixth to eighth also provides us the opportunity to add more pre-K," he said. "Pre-K is the key to closing the achievement gap, because we can get more kids into the system younger."

Staff writer Tawnell D. Hobbs and Vanesa Salinas of Al Dia contributed to this report.

For more information

DISD is on schedule to open 12 new schools next year, part of its effort to eliminate portable classrooms and phase out aging facilities. As a result, attendance zones will change. The plan includes moving many sixth-graders from elementary schools to middle schools.

To see maps of the changes or to find out if your school is affected, visit dallasisd.org/eval/schoolinfo /indexzones.htm

Trustees will vote on the new zones at 6 tonight in the auditorium at DISD's headquarters, 3700 Ross Ave.

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Source: The Dallas Morning News

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