12/20/2007

By Simone Sebastian and Encarnacion Pyle

The Columbus Dispatch

Columbus Superintendent Gene Harris’ plan to eliminate middle schools is “revolutionary,” according to the school-board president. But some district residents call it “a slap in the face.”

Yesterday, parents and officials weighed the pros and cons of the proposal Harris unveiled Tuesday night.

In the Linden area, which would be first to convert to the new system, some parents said they fear the plan will cause crowded elementary schools and unsafe high schools. District officials said they are working on its details to ensure Columbus students are better educated and safer.

Harris’ proposal would move seventh- and eighth-graders into high schools. Sixth-grade students would attend elementary schools.

The plan is familiar to residents in Linden, where the district already had suggested it would expand Linden-McKinley High School to seventh and eighth grades to combat declining enrollment. In the past two years, the district has closed five Linden-area schools, including four elementaries and Linmoor Middle School.

Anna Paulson, 32, of South Linden, said preteens have it hard enough without being thrown into a high-school environment. “Children like middle school because they’re no longer babies, but they also are not yet expected to have the world figured out yet,” said Paulson, whose niece attends Medina Middle School.

District administrators said Columbus middle schools have been suffering from enrollment declines and parent complaints.

Harris’ plan would mitigate those problems, they said. Younger students would have access to high-school-level classes and facilities under the plan. And students would stay in the same school for a longer period of time, making it easier to develop relationships with teachers and reducing the number of times students have to acclimate to a new school.

Sixth-graders could be added to Linden-area elementary schools next school year. Linden-McKinley could expand to lower grades in 2009-10. Other district schools would convert gradually in following years.

Clarence Lumpkin, the unofficial “Mayor of Linden,” sparred with Columbus school officials during debates over school closings. But he changed his mind about the Linden-McKinley proposal after Harris called him last week.

“At first, I was opposed to the idea,” said Lumpkin, 83, who has devoted decades to community service in the Linden area. “But I now honestly believe the younger children will benefit from … extracurricular activities at the high school — all while being physically separated from the older kids.”

But Glenn Martin, a 45-year-old father of two, is concerned that adding sixth-graders to elementary schools would tax already limited resources.

“A lot of the kids start school and there aren’t books or desks for them,” he said. “This isn’t a solution; it’s a slap in the face.”

Beyond Harris’ proposal, the district is considering several other changes for schools in Linden to address concerns spurred by the school closures.

A community task force that included Lumpkin’s son, Doug Lumpkin, has proposed extending the school day for tutoring, extracurriculars or internships; creating summer academic programs; increasing teacher training; and dividing Linden-McKinley High School students into smaller “houses” within the school.

But those details won’t be worked out for several more weeks, school officials said.

Meanwhile, the details of the middle-school plan won’t be finished for months.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions at this point,” said school-board member Stephanie Groce. “Let’s see the plan before we make any judgment.”

Other board members are taking the same position

The school board has taken a hands-off approach to this and other plans from district administrators. Some members didn’t know about the middle-school proposal until it was announced Tuesday.

The board’s approval is not needed for Harris to change grade configurations in the schools, but it is needed to fund the plan.

“The board should have questions and influence on the plan. But the board … should not become an obstacle,” President Terry Boyd said. “It’s a very revolutionary idea.”

ssebastian@dispatch.com

epyle@dispatch.com

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