The West Platte Board of Education voted unanimously last month to reconfigure the district’s current grade structure to create a middle school program at the existing school site in Weston.
Superintendent Dr. John Rinehart presented the proposal – which was decades in the making – at the Wednesday, Feb. 17 board meeting. Currently, the district only has an elementary school and a high school, with students in the middle grades floating between programs in a junior high school program.
Kids at that age are unique, Rinehart said, and would benefit from a program designed specifically for them.
“They’re not quite little kids but they’re not young adults,” he said.
Rinehart said after looking at a comparison of school districts of comparable size, most offered middle school programs. West Platte and Mid-Buch were the only regional districts sticking with the current configuration.
State curriculum is organized for grades kindergarten through fifth grade, sixth through eighth grade, and grades nine through 12.
Creation of a middle school program would fall into line with the state guidelines, allow the students to develop a sense of identity, and help the unique age group with additional counseling and academic support, as well as additional opportunities for exploratory coursework.
While classroom teachers would likely stay the same, the district would need a new administrator and a dedicated middle school counselor.
Board president Ryan Rotterman said the middle school has been a long time coming and spoke for the absent Shane Bartee, who wanted the board to know he supported the establishment of the middle school program.
Board member Donald Wilson said he thought it would be a great idea to have the middle school in a free-standing building, but knew it would be logistically difficult
Board member Kyle Stephenson said he started looking at the middle school issue when he started his own tenure as superintendent in 2000.
“This addresses a forgotten group – a group that needs help,” he said. “That’s the age when kids can start to rebel at home, and if the parents can’t or won’t control them, there are things we can do to help them. By the time they’re in high school, it’s too late.”
The board unanimously approved creation of the middle school program, with plans to launch it for the 2021-2022 school year.