Meetings Cover Grade Switches At Schools
Moving Students
Wolf Point School officials held informational meeting at three schools last week regarding moving grade levels. A proposal is having third-grade students attend Northside Elementary School and sixth-grade students attend classes at the junior high school.
Board chair Roxanne Gourneau explained the proposal hasn’t come overnight and that school officials have been considering changes for a decent amount of time.
The meetings took place at Southside on March 31, Northside at 1 p.m. and the junior high school on April 3.
Later in the meeting, Gourneau added that improvements can be made with the plan over time. “This isn’t one and done,” she said.
Under the proposal, the district office will move back to the current Montana Highway Patrol building. Currently, MHP leases the building from the school district. Superintendent David Perkins said the move would allow for a band classroom for Northside students. Band instruction will start in fifth grade instead of sixth grade. There’s also the possibility of adding an art room at Northside, an office for a therapist and alternative education classrooms. HPDP could use offices as exam rooms.
Perkins said positives of moving sixth-grade students to the junior high include curriculum is designed and flows together for sixth through eighth grades. Transportation will no longer be an issue for afterschool sports.
A new House Bill in the state would provide extra funding for sixth-grade students who are in a junior high school. It would also alleviate overcrowding of students.
The superintendent said positives of moving third grade include leveling the student numbers on individual campuses. Most curriculum is grouped third through fifth grade. The move would allow for an alternative classroom at Southside.
Perkins noted Southside having an alternative education classroom should decrease the amount of expulsions at that young grade level. He said that discipline hurts both the children and the community.
“If we have a way to serve them, we’re better off,” Perkins said.
Parent and teacher Amanda Campbell said she was against a similar proposal a few years ago, but she now supports the idea after talking with her fifth-grade son and younger students at Southside. She said the students are excited about the change.
There was a concern expressed that alternative education might not work on Southside’s second floor, but Perkins answered that different options could be considered.
During the meeting at Northside, Gourneau said the school district has a lot going for it including good attendance and a good teaching staff. She said the proposed changes would capitalize on the district’s space and resources.
“If there are problems, I know we can address them together,” Gourneau told audience members, which mainly included staff members.
“It will be good for students, bottom line,” Perkins said.
