Weighing K-8: Parents question idea of having many ages under one roof

Since early fall there has been a buzz about a possible move to K-8 schools in Salt Lake City School District. Some school communities are interested, some are strongly opposed, but many parents have big questions about how well the plan will work in Salt Lake City.

However, Utah has had some kindergarten-through-eighth-grade schools for years. Many private and parochial schools have K-8 configurations. So do many public charter schools — nearly 20 by next year — and officials at those schools say K-8 just makes sense.

"Middle-school age is such a confusing time where they are trying to figure out who they are," said Cindy Clarke, CAO of North Star Academy in Bluffdale. "And being in an elementary setting longer just helps them through those really awkward difficult middle-school years and it builds that confidence in them that we hope will carry them through high school."

Salt Lake district leaders have brought up the idea for some elementary schools on the east side. They have targeted Clayton and Hillside middle schools' feeders to see if the community has an interest in keeping early teens in an elementary environment a couple of years longer.

According to district leaders, national data show that middle schoolers perform better in a more nurturing environment surrounded by teachers who know them and their individual achievement levels.

The responses have been mixed and the district is in the middle of the survey process. But so far parents seem to be most concerned about having older students mixed with younger children, and K-8 schools not being able to offer the same programs to students that a large middle school would.

"Those are valid concerns but I don't know if they are really justified," Corey Brandenburger, principal of the K-8 Christ Lutheran School in Murray. "I think it makes much more sense to make one transition in ninth grade."

Parents have questioned the idea of having such a broad range of ages with a variety of social, emotional and academic levels under the same roof. They worry about bullying, fighting and even public displays of affection in front of younger children.

Scott Clinger, a parent at Dilworth Elementary, said middle-school-age students are at a unique stage in life and keeping them with the younger children denies them the opportunity to start to grow up, face change and prepare for high school.

Transitions can be hard, but they are part of everyday life, he said.

However, officials in K-8 schools discount those concerns.

"We have not had one single issue with bullying — maybe it's because they look after each other, but we have not had problems like that at all," said Judy Farris, principal at Navigator Pointe Academy, a charter school in West Jordan.