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K-8 School; Why Not?
Topic Started: Nov 10 2006, 08:33 PM (1,591 Views)
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SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ARTICLE

K-8 Schools: An Idea for the New Millenium?
Are K through 8 schools things of the past, memories of yesteryear? Are middle schools the wave of the future? Many educators think so, but some still believe K through 8 is the best way to go!


The educational pendulum couldn't swing much farther in the direction of middle schools than it already has. Now and then, however, even though middle schools rule the educational landscape, we hear cries -- thin but growing stronger -- of "Take another look at K through 8."

What's the best configuration for K through 12 schooling? That's a question educators strive to answer. In the 1960s, the nation found its answer, accepting the idea that middle schools were necessary. People thought 12- and 13-year-old students had particular needs that could be met best when students were housed in a separate building. Now some educators are rethinking that assumption.

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?

"First, it's probably safe to say that there is not much, if any, hard and fast research on grade configuration," said Jennifer Fager of Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Information Services. Fager worked with Catherine Paglin on a booklet titled Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?, which was published in July 1997.

"That was one of our obstacles in preparing the booklet," Fager continued. "Some information exists with respect to middle schoolers, but beyond that, it's mostly anecdotal stuff. That said, I can tell you that many people feel positive about the K through 8 concept.

"They feel that it is good for the younger kids to have older role models in the building every day, that it gives them an understanding of the purpose and progression of education," she went on. "It is also said that it is good for the older kids to be role models and mentors and that this arrangement gives them more of a sense of accountability to their younger admirers. Some feel that this configuration lends itself to a more community type atmosphere. That can also be attributed to the fact that K through 8 schools are often found in small communities, which tend to support their schools more than larger ones."

"On the other hand," Fager continued, "a K through 8 arrangement might not be able to tend as specifically to the developmental needs of a particular age group as schools with narrower configurations can. For example, proponents of the middle school philosophy feel it is very important to offer students in this age range services tailored to their unique phase of life.... There are those who feel strongly about primary schools that service grades K through 2 or 3. Again, specific developmental needs of early childhood come into play in these instances."

HOW ONE K-8 SCHOOL WORKS

Jim Cox is the principal of Girdwood Elementary School in Girdwood, Alaska, one of the K through 8 schools featured in the NWREL booklet that Fager worked on. He is understandably enthused about the K through 8 configuration but said it might not work well in every situation.

He talked about how he, his staff, the students, and the community make the 142-student school work. "We have very high expectations academically, and student responsibility is stressed."

Although all grades are housed in one building, seventh and eighth grades operate much as a junior high school does. "At any given time, we have about 25 to 45 students in seventh and eighth grades," Cox said. "We offer a variety of subjects, even though we may have, for instance, five students in geometry. But we still offer it. And when we can't offer an elective, teachers try to offer students independent study."

Another unique feature of the school, Cox says, is the degree of student involvement. "I do think [students] miss out on certain advantages of a larger school," Cox says, "but they are involved in the school to a great extent. They plan activities around math and science, for example, that they would like to do. They planned a kayaking experience to study water, for instance. There is also a student-driven field trip each year."

High-school teachers report that Girdwood students, as a whole, perform well. "I think it's because of the degree of responsibility students take for their work," Cox says. "Our parents at all grade levels are also very involved."

As he explains the advantages of this K through 8 school, Cox acknowledges that some of them derive from conditions other than the school configuration. "The involvement of parents and the relative smallness of our school give it some of the character it has," Cox says.

OVERALL TREND TOWARD K-8?

Although it's too early to point to a nationwide trend toward reinstating or creating new K through 8 schools, areas exist in which movement to the K through 8 configuration can be found.

Colorado Education Commissioner William Moloney has suggested revisiting the concept of elementary schools that teach kindergarten through eighth grade. Most school districts in Colorado have middle schools or junior highs sandwiched between elementary and senior high schools.

"Don't misconstrue this," Moloney told the Rocky Mountain News (see Quit Building Middle Schools?: Top Education Official Floats Idea to Legislators). "It's not an issue of abolishing existing middle schools. That would be wasteful. But when we have an enormous financial burden ahead of us in new construction, you just have to look at other options."

Adding two grades, seventh and eighth, to existing K through 6 schools would be less expensive than building new middle schools.

Moloney went on to say, "Historically [the K through 8 school] is what America was. It really comes down to the things that parents value most -- intimacy, the basics, control.

"If your child is known by every single teacher in the building, if you have a relationship of nine years' duration, if you have that kind of focus and intensity," Moloney asked, "is that not better than when your children are sent to a more distant school with larger numbers?"
In Higley, a rapidly growing hamlet in the East Valley near Phoenix, Arizona, the school board in December 1998 decided the five new schools it envisions will be K through 8 schools, just as its single school is now. Barry Burke, a Higley school board member, told the Arizona Republic ("Higley Signs Off on K-8 Schools," 12/16/98) that it makes sense to keep preteens and early teens in the regimented elementary school setting.

Higley school officials say that, generally, older children in K through 8 schools are less likely to succumb to negative peer pressure than they are in middle schools and junior highs, which are basically mini high schools.

Advocates of middle schools see the issue quite differently, however. They say kids aged 12 and 13 have their own needs -- including discipline problems and special electives -- that can be best met in a separate building with a larger population.

So many educational districts have built middle schools and junior highs that we probably can't expect any major swing in the pendulum soon. Still, the trend in some areas to retain or build K through 8 schools bears watching.

K-8 RESOURCES ON THE WWW

Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where? This handy 40-page booklet explores various grade configurations, noting the plusses and minuses of all and when they tend to work or not work. To order the booklet, e-mail Jennifer Fager at FagerJ@nwrel.org.
The Academic Effectiveness of Small-Scale Schooling (An Update) This article, by Craig Howley, cites a 1992 study that found an elementary K through 8 setting was more favorable to achievement among eighth graders than other grade configurations.
Article by Sharon Cromwell
Education World®
Copyright © 2005 Education World


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There are many articles and research on the K-8 configuration. You can find many benefits. What is presented here is a small amount of research. It is tough to find the time to do this, but do not take anyones word for it. Do a simple google search for yourself. You will find a wealth of research to make your own decision. Search all other grade configurations also.
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NFarquharson
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Jimid
Nov 13 2006, 02:10 AM
There are many articles and research on the K-8 configuration. You can find many benefits. What is presented here is a small amount of research. It is tough to find the time to do this, but do not take anyones word for it. Do a simple google search for yourself. You will find a wealth of research to make your own decision. Search all other grade configurations also.

I find Google Scholar to be really helpful. You can go to "Google," then "more, then 'even more" and find Scholar. This search engine will only find scholarly articles and peer-reviewed research. Use the "Advanced Scholar Search" to narrow your search even further.

Another very good tool can be found at www.eric.ed.gov (Education Resources Information Center) where you can search specifically on education-related topics.
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fyi
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Quote:
 
Middle grades students in a K-8 school behave differently than in a middle school. They take on the role of protector and role model as opposed to having to establish new reputations upon entering a middle school.


I totally agree with this. Children that attend the same school for a longer span (k-6, k-8) behave differently because everyone knows them.

I saw firsthand the change in my own child as she entered middle school. Kids feel they have to act a certain way because they are no longer in elementary school. Although they would still be in middle school at a k-8 school, it wouldn't be the same as starting over with a traditional middle school. They are already familiar with the school, teachers, students, etc.
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no-good
6th Grade
I would support a K-8 school. Even if I had to provide my own transportation. If the BOE and the Dr. had any sense, they would consider this to prevent yet another huge exodus next year. Many parents are in the position that my husband and I are in........we have children in K-4 now (One in 3rd grade and one in 4th-grade). This is our last year before my daughter is scheduled to go to the mega 5-6 schools. We do not want to send them there and have been looking at our choices. If one goes then they both go. Next year in Livonia, there will be 2 less students from our family. And, I also have a two year old which means an assitional loss when the time comes for him to be in school.

Unless of course there is something to look forward to in Livonia. I think a K-8 would be awesome and would certainly keep many kids in the district that are about to jump ship!! I would also be willing to drive them!!!!!!!
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no-good
Nov 13 2006, 09:30 AM
I would support a K-8 school. Even if I had to provide my own transportation. If the BOE and the Dr. had any sense, they would consider this to prevent yet another huge exodus next year. Many parents are in the position that my husband and I are in........we have children in K-4 now (One in 3rd grade and one in 4th-grade). This is our last year before my daughter is scheduled to go to the mega 5-6 schools. We do not want to send them there and have been looking at our choices. If one goes then they both go. Next year in Livonia, there will be 2 less students from our family. And, I also have a two year old which means an assitional loss when the time comes for him to be in school.

Unless of course there is something to look forward to in Livonia. I think a K-8 would be awesome and would certainly keep many kids in the district that are about to jump ship!! I would also be willing to drive them!!!!!!!

Ditto.
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