The Burrell School District will move forward with a teacher-proposed reconfiguration of Charles A. Huston Middle School as it prepares to welcome fifth graders next school year.
The reconfiguration, which garnered approval this week from a task force set up to plan the reconfiguration, places two fifth-grade classrooms on the first floor and the remaining four fifth-grade classrooms on the second floor close to a stairwell that will be reserved for fifth graders only, said building Principal Travis Welch.
A dozen sixth and seventh grade classrooms will be on the second floor. Six eighth grade classrooms will be in a section of the first floor away from the fifth graders.
Goal: Isolate grade levels
Ultimately, the reconfiguration reduces student movement throughout the building and also keeps each grade level isolated, district officials said.
The reconfiguration is necessary after the school board closed Stewart Elementary in October and decided to send fifth graders to Huston for next school year. Fourth graders will attend Bon Air Elementary School.
Since then, the volunteer task forces for each school — comprising about 20 parents and staff — have held meetings hosted by Burrell administrators to review and recommend building reconfigurations and schedules for the schools next year.
The Huston task force is scheduled to present its findings to the school board in March.
The Bon Air task force finalized its building layout in December.
Administrators had presented a proposed building layout to the Huston task force in December that kept all fifth grade classes on the first floor, split sixth grade between the first and second floors, and had all seventh and eighth grades on the second floor.
After that meeting, Huston staff discussed some alternative ideas, Welch said. The approved layout has two fifth grade classrooms closest to where students get off their buses, he said.
In addition to the fifth grade-only stairwell, specific restrooms downstairs would be for fifth graders only.
“If we are trying to isolate fifth grade, and not have them roam throughout the rest of the building, they’re coming right off the bus, there’s two classrooms downstairs,” Welch said.
Each grade will have its own lunch period.
“Fifth grade would never be in the halls at the same time as seventh and eighth (grades),” he said.
Sixth and seventh grades will have their own designated stairwells and restrooms. Eighth graders also will have their own restroom downstairs.
“Each grade upstairs would get their own stairs,” Welch said. “That helps with congestion, especially when we’re talking about lunches and class changes.”
At the Feb. 11 school board meeting, Burrell’s architect will present drafts of various projects, Superintendent Shannon Wagner said. They include heating and ventilation at Burrell High School and Bon Air, and additional kitchen space and six more classrooms at Bon Air. Those classrooms would be needed if the district were to move fifth grade classes to Bon Air in the future.
Wagner said that in later months the board will have to determine what projects it wants to pursue.