LWSD could go to 4-year high schools
February 10, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Lake Washington School District Superintendent Chip Kimball announced Feb. 5 a proposal to change school configurations throughout the district.
As part of Vision 2020, Kimball recommended to the Lake Washington School Board to consider changing elementary schools to kindergarten through fifth grade, middle schools to sixth through eighth grade and high schools to ninth through twelfth grade.
The proposal, Kimball said in a presentation Feb. 6, is driven by potentially improved student learning.
“If we’re serious about college readiness, we’ve really got to think about putting ninth grade in high school,” Kimball said. “We’re at a fork in the road.”
One of the major issues Kimball addressed is that high school transcripts, which are used for college applications, begin in the ninth grade. Currently, students who are in ninth grade in the Lake Washington schools are still in the junior high school buildings, which he said puts them at a disadvantage.
As a result, students often have a tough time understanding that their ninth-grade performance counts as high school credit.
He said research overwhelmingly supports the middle school model (sixth through eighth grade) over the junior high model (seventh through ninth) and the four-year high school.
While going to a four-year high school model would mean expanding the high school facilities, the district’s preliminary review, based on predicted demographic trends, found a need for elementary-level expansion. If the LWSD shifted sixth graders into middle school and ninth graders into high school, the need for more classrooms shifts to high schools only.
“If we had a clean slate, we would build it one way, but we don’t have that,” Kimball said.
He said if the board follows the recommendation and the community passes a 2010 general bond proposal, the transition would take about four years.
The district will begin the process by conducting community studies and focus groups, as well as hosting discussion meetings at schools throughout the district.
Kimball said the idea to re-configure the schools has been circulating among the top-level administration since last summer. The school board will decide its course of action by June.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Comments
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.
