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Middle school program's a hit But administrators now must decide who's in and who's not By DAMIAN MANN Almost a third of Medford's fifth-graders - 338 students - have asked to be part of a sixth-grade pilot program this fall at McLoughlin and Hedrick middle schools. The problem is, there's only room for 232 of them. McLoughlin and Hedrick, which currently offer grades seven and eight, received 180 and 158 requests respectively. This overwhelming response left administrators pleasantly surprised, but they now have to tell some of these students and their parents that they can't be part of this program. "We were tickled to death, considering that the transition to middle school is so stressful for some children," said Hedrick Principal Marjorie Lininger. Lininger and McLoughlin Principal Doug McKenzie will now sit down and draw the names of 232 students from the Medford's 14 elementary schools. The two middle schools plan to have four classrooms and 116 students each to test the pilot project, which is the first step in expanding the middle schools to grades six through eight. "The sixth-graders will have a dabbling of electives," Lininger said. They will receive instruction in such things as a foreign language, speech and drama. "I think the parents were thrilled at the opportunities their children would receive," she said. By changing the grade structure at its schools, Medford will match most other districts throughout the state. It also will alleviate overcrowding at some elementary schools where enrollment is at or near 600 students. It will help teachers and administrators plan better for the certificate of initial mastery (CIM) tests offered in grades three, five, eight and 10. The two principals will cull out some of the requests based on the students' attendance records. "The group that comes to us needs to come here and stay here," explained McKenzie. Lininger said they will pay particular attention to whether the students have lived in an attendance area for a long time. But she has found very little problem in the requests received, she said. The principals need to make sure they take an appropriate number of students from each of the district's elementary schools, some of which are at or near capacity. "We are going to set targets for each school," Lininger said. Superintendent Steve Wisely said the pilot project cannot be expanded because there is not enough space at the two middle schools. Designed for about 1,200 students each, the two middle schools will have about 1,100 students with the addition of the sixth-graders. The district will have to wait until after a projected $70 million bond measure is passed before a new middle school is built in 2004. The money will also construct a planned skill center and allow for upgrades at the two high schools. Wisely said the pilot project shows there appears to be enough support in the district for a sixth-through-eighth-grade middle school program. "We were extremely pleased," he said. "You go into a pilot project not knowing what the results will be." The district will continue to look for volunteers each year until the new middle school is built. Lininger said, "The success of the program next year will be the advertisement for the following year." The district will notify parents by May 1 whether their child will be part of the program. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.