Response to Middle School Conundrum

June 25, 2012 at 6:59 AM 1 comment

To the Editors of the New York Times:

The Middle School Conundrum debate, published on 6/18/2012 on NYTimes.com, left room for another conversation. While each author addressed emerging adolescence, any policy on elementary education must consider younger children as well. I propose a neighborhood campus solution based on adjacent PreK-3 early elementary and grade 4-8 upper elementary schools.

Separate PreK-3 and 4-8 learning communities are better aligned to mission, as defined by 3^rd and 8^th grade academic benchmarks. The children would be more appropriately clustered for physical and psychosocial development. And building proximity would support inter-age connections and underwrite shared facilities for libraries, cafeterias, and physical education. This plan is superior to either grade 6 transitions, which are disruptive to academic performance, or K-8 schools that are already being overloaded with the addition of pre-kindergarten students from early intervention programs.

Very truly yours,
Kathleen T. Wright
Executive Director
SchoolsRetooled