Patch Poll: Which Middle School Solution Is Best?
Separate sixth grade academy draws support, but some back separate middle schools
A community consensus is apparent on many issues regarding the APS redistricting options:
- Centennial Place students shouldn't be moved to Buckhead middle schools or North Atlanta High.
- Adding capacity in rebuilding E. Rivers and Brandon elementaries could solve overcrowding without moving neighborhoods out of their districts.
- A Garden Hills primary center could also remove need for massive redistricting.
- Neighborhoods shouldn't be split.
But some disagreement surfaced about whether Buckhead should have two separate middle schools, one at the Sutton Middle School site and the other at the present North Atlanta High site, or a separate sixth grade academy at Sutton and seventh and eighth grades at North Atlanta. Another possibility surfaced when APS facilities director Alvah Hardy said North Atlanta could handle one middle school, which could leave Sutton open for other uses, such as being the "swing school" when E. Rivers is reconstructed.
Let us know what you think in this Buckhead Patch poll. And, give us your thoughts in the Comments box.
Bill Betzen
8:22 am on Monday, February 13, 2012
These proposed changes are apparently not paying attention to the research, such as the July 2011 research from Harvard documenting that all middle school transitions have a negative effect on student achievement. See http://schoolarchiveproject.blogspot.com/2012/02/separate-middle-schools-vs-k-8.html
Sarah
3:11 pm on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I believe that having two separate middle schools each serving it's own distinct community benefits the students the most and allows for real community involvement.