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YouTubeThe Dispatch wroteNovel idea or 'slap in face'?
Plan to eliminate middle school gets mixed reception
Thursday, December 20, 2007 3:09 AM
BY SIMONE SEBASTIAN AND ENCARNACION PYLE
Columbus Superintendent Gene Harris' plan to eliminate middle schools is "revolutionary," according to the school-board president. But some district residents call it "a slap in the face."
Yesterday, parents and officials weighed the pros and cons of the proposal Harris unveiled Tuesday night.
In the Linden area, which would be first to convert to the new system, some parents said they fear the plan will cause crowded elementary schools and unsafe high schools. District officials said they are working on its details to ensure Columbus students are better educated and safer.
Harris' proposal would move seventh- and eighth-graders into high schools. Sixth-grade students would attend elementary schools.
The plan is familiar to residents in Linden, where the district already had suggested it would expand Linden-McKinley High School to seventh and eighth grades to combat declining enrollment. In the past two years, the district has closed five Linden-area schools, including four elementaries and Linmoor Middle School.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Plan to eliminate middle school gets mixed reception
[14 posts] [10 contributors]
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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Posted 4 years ago # -
shroud
Polaris
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Having sixth graders in elementary school and seventh and eight graders in high school is hardly anything new. Lots of smaller towns with only one high school already have a setup very much like this. Others have a "Junior High" instead of a middle school that is just 7th and 8th grade. Sometimes even 9th.
There's a part of me that feels like the age difference between a 17-18 year old senior and a 12-13 year old seventh grader is just too vast for it to be a great idea for them to all be together in the same building.
At the same time, in most places I've seen this implemented, the lower classmen have their own wing that's well out of the way for the upper classmen anyway, with separate lunch periods/recess, etc. And in that case, then it's really only using the same building space to house two different populations, and not really all THAT different from having two separate buildings.
Posted 4 years ago # -
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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If this is the best they can come up with to try to fix this flawed system I'm glad I don't forsee having kids any time soon...
I would almost rather them move 6, 7, and 8 in with elementary as opposed to 7 and 8 in to high schools. I'll be honest, I haven't seen a lot of high schools in this city, but the ones I have don't appear to have the structure that would allow for the "wing" set up that Shroud mentioned and that I know has worked well in a lot of areas.
I feel bad for the kids. I really wish the district/city/county/state, could figure out some way to get this district back on track quickly. I don't think we're going to become that highly-successful mega-city we're all working toward and hoping for without a strong school system. I also really hope the kid who is to discover a cure for AIDS or is to be the great president of his/her generation isn't falling through the cracks in CPS :(
Posted 4 years ago # -
gramarye
In Exile
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somertime: Sad to say, but most successful cities have succeeded in *spite* of their school districts, not because of them. New York gave up on the egalitarian model a while ago; their best and brightest go to truly high-octane elite magnets like Stuyvesant (science), Fiorello LaGuardia (arts), etc.
As to the plan: as several posters have already noted, it's hardly as dramatic as the Dispatch is hamming it up to be. Also, given the declining enrollment at many CPS high schools, moving the 7th and 8th graders to elementaries is going to be strategically counterproductive, no matter the educational arguments (which I think are a push). The point is to increase the total usage of those high school buildings to prevent them from looking like closure targets.
Posted 4 years ago # -
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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I understand that cities like NYC, LA, SF, Chicago, etc. can survive with crappy schools, but we're not those cities. We have to have a complete package in order to fill all the other homes in the area that aren't one and two BR condos. A family of 4 with a decent household income isn't going to move to Columbus-proper if our schools suck (most working parents are trying to provide for a better life for their kids and that usually starts with education), but that's who we need to want to move in to Weinland Park, Merion Village, Franklinton, etc.
If they keep this to the more "suburban" like areas of CPS it will probably be fine. However, if they start putting the sweet, young boys that live down one side of the street from me (with no supervision after-school) in the same building for 8 hours a day with the big boys who sell drugs out of their windows on the other side of the street, how do you see that working out? Don't kids deserve a chance to be kids as long as possible? It's bad enough they have to cross paths with them to get to the bus stop, I don't want them to face the dilemma of joining them or being harrassed for 6 years.
Posted 4 years ago # -
urbandenim
sitting in press grill having a gin and tonic
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I saw this story on the news last night and was confused about the situation.
This cannot not be the answer to fixing the cps district problems. It sounds like some type of easy fix. Since i myself went to columbus public schools during it's hey day (i guess) i cannot imagine being stuck in the same school with the same people for 6 years. You can compare the system with other districts, but this is the largest district in the state SO i honestly don't think this will truly be helpful to the students. I went to two high schools and i can tell you from a personal perspective if kids had to stay at the last school i went to (east high school) for 6 years they would be dropping out like flys. About 90% percent of our class graduated but if some of us had been there since 7th grade im almost certain that statistic would be completely different.
And the schools are crowded enough so where the hell are all those new kids gonna fit? Dumb plan. i really hope this doesn't happen.
Posted 4 years ago # -
gramarye
In Exile
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urbandenim wrote And the schools are crowded enough so where the hell are all those new kids gonna fit? Dumb plan. i really hope this doesn't happen.
Um ... I'm pretty sure the article actually said that the school was dangerously under capacity.
Posted 4 years ago # -
BetsyB
Westgate
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My high school and junior high were housed in the same building but different wings. It worked out well, but I remember how hard it was for freshman in my high school to adapt, I can't imagine throwing younger kids into this. Plus my actual first thought involved putting 7th and 8th grade girls and mixing them with older boys...not really smart unless you want to increase the percentage of teenage pregnancies in CPS.
Posted 4 years ago # -
joev
Merion Village
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They should just abolish middle school altogether. It's the time people start getting, a little chubby and their first pair of bad glasses. God bless the people who teach middle school. The hormone soaked, nearly uncontrolable mass of kids would scare the crap out of me.
Three years of homeschooling would (maybe) let these kids' self esteem settle out so they can become more normal adults.
Posted 4 years ago #
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