What does K-8 realignment mean?
On November 23, 2023, the EPSD School Board voted to approve a K-8 grade realignment plan for the school district. Upon completion, district elementary buildings will house students in grades K-4. The district’s current middle school model will change to a 5th and 6th grade building and a 7th and 8th grade building. This change will bring all students in a grade level cohort together beginning in their 5th grade year.
How will activities and athletics be impacted by this grade level realignment?
The district is committed to maintaining (and expanding) the number of extracurricular opportunities that are currently available to students. A committee of stakeholders will be responsible for exploring and proposing the best options to maximize student involvement through this realignment process.
When will the K-8 realignment project be completed?
It is projected that the district’s K-8 realignment project will be completed by the beginning of the 2028-2029 school year.
Will students be redistricted in this plan?
There will be some redistricting at the elementary level needed as part of this plan. The goal of the district will be to minimize the number of students and families impacted by redistricting changes.
There are multiple stakeholder groups involved in the planning for realignment. At the beginning of this process, all K-12 EPSD faculty and staff members were invited to participate as members of subcommittees. Currently, there are approximately 130 faculty, staff, and administrators serving on 10 subcommittees each focused on different aspects of programmatic and logistical planning.Â
The facilitators or leads of each subcommittee are represented on the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee is composed of 30 members, which includes representation from School Board Directors, district and building level administration, and faculty. The Steering Committee serves as the primary group responsible for evaluating and reaching agreement on recommendations from each subcommittee.
Community input is represented through our Community Stakeholder Focus Groups, which consist of four groups dedicated to specific grade bands: K-4, 5-6, 7-8, and K-8. A total of 110 community members participate in these groups. Focus group members receive updates from district administration on committee work and in turn, offer perspectives and provide feedback on proposals.
The transition for students moving from each building will be managed with thoughtful and purposeful planning to ensure each student feels supported and prepared for the changes at each stage. Our school teams are committed to designing opportunities to ease the transitions in ways that accommodate the unique developmental needs of each age group. Transition programs will introduce students and families to each new environment and will ensure that they are aware of the resources available to support student success at each step.
At this time, no decisions have been made regarding the specifics of student movement between buildings. Through the realignment planning process, our redistricting committee will continue to explore the redistricting needs and further analyze projected student enrollment data prior to making any recommendations. It will be the goal of administration to minimize the impact of redistricting on families to the greatest extent possible. As work on this topic progresses, information will be shared with the school and district communities.
No, class sizes will remain within the average class size range that currently exists in both of our middle schools.