For many years the district has been planning to move the sixth graders up to join the junior highs and to change them to middle school. Now, they finally are. As of now, all of the schools they are planning to distribute new students to are ready to make the change, except Klahowya. Klahowya will not be including sixth graders when the district makes the change.

For this change to happen, some of the middle school buildings will have to be improved as well. The schools will also be adding specialists that will be there to help out the sixth graders facing the struggles of junior high both academically and socially. This big change will also cause the class sizes of the elementary schools to shrink.

Most of the students feel negatively towards the move. For example, CKHS junior Emma McCarty thinks that “it really sucks that they’re adding sixth graders because they just have to suffer the junior high years even longer than before.” CKMS seventh graders Lauren Boyudstun and Soni Sharma agree that the upcoming sixth graders are “too young” to be in the school with the older kids. Sharma said, “I would not have been ready for the junior high at that age,” and Boyudstun thinks that “the older kids will look down upon them.”

The decision was made this past November. In December and January, staffing and programs were starting to form. Students will start registration this month. The schools also plan to have an open house in April or May and the annual school visits will be happening in late August or early September. All of these events have been moving on schedule so far.