District updates board on middle‑school realignment: consolidated grades, new electives, schedule work and transportation tweaks

Jess Moore, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, told the board on Oct. 14 that the district is less than a year into a multiyear middle‑school redesign and that work will continue through 2027.

“Just for perspective … the first steering committee for middle school redesign was on October 28. So we are less than a year into this process, and we know it’s a multiyear process to really reimagine, transform both of those buildings,” Moore said. She told the board the district successfully relocated all seventh‑ and eighth‑grade students to a single campus and has started a multi‑year effort to reconfigure programs and spaces.

Moore listed several program changes already in place: moving music ensembles into the school day, which increased participation and required larger rehearsal space; adding five sections of life‑science biology — a high‑school Regents course — for eighth grade; and the creation of flexible learning, art and STEM spaces at Iroquois.

The assistant superintendent said the district plans to continue program development for Van Antwerp to support grades 5–6 and that subcommittees will provide feedback on scheduling, academics and student agency. Moore described elective plans that could include art, culinary and STEM “sampler” courses, with eighth grade most likely to support expanded offerings in the near term because of current full‑time equivalency (FTE) constraints.

Board members and staff discussed scheduling logistics, including use of a block schedule that creates modular blocks and how elective time could be carved into the cycle. Moore said the district will bring in a consultant to advise on schedule variations and combinations.

District staff also acknowledged transportation growing pains tied to the reconfiguration. An administrator said buses are on time roughly 90 percent of the time but that two to three routes are chronically late; the transportation plan under consideration would split two longest routes into three to reduce ridership per bus and improve on‑time performance. The staff member said some of the timing depends on recruiting additional drivers.

Moore and other leaders said subcommittees will reconvene immediately to continue planning and that the district is targeting 2027 to operate both campuses as 5–6 and 7–8. Board members requested additional updates during the budget and scheduling season in February and March.

No formal board action was taken on program changes at the Oct. 14 meeting; the presentation was received and committees will continue to develop proposals for future action.