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Sweetwater County School District to open Ninth Grade Center half‑day schedule to ease 8–9 transition
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Libby outlined a plan to place ninth graders in a dedicated Ninth Grade Center on a half‑day split schedule to reduce dropout risk and support academic transition. Trustees expressed support and said operational details — transportation, lunch, staffing and data backing the change — will be posted to the district webpage.
Superintendent Dr. Libby said at the April 14 Sweetwater County School District #1 Board of Trustees meeting that the district will open a Ninth Grade Center using a daily half‑day split schedule intended to support students transitioning from eighth to ninth grade.
Dr. Libby said the district’s enrollment and budget review showed “the transition between eighth and ninth grade” is a place where students historically struggle and that current ninth‑grade numbers permit running smaller, team‑based groups. "We have numbers in our ninth grade that are actually conducive to running a split, a split schedule on a daily basis," Dr. Libby said.
The plan calls for half of ninth‑grade students to begin their day at the Ninth Grade Center for core instruction while the other half start at the high school for electives; students will switch at lunchtime and the district will provide busing. "We'll feed everybody at the Ninth Grade Center," Dr. Libby said, adding the district is working with transportation staff to limit multiple mid‑day trips and reduce across‑campus junior and senior movements.
Dr. Libby said the district will keep ninth graders on campus (no open campus) and provide dedicated administrators and counselors at the Ninth Grade Center. The district also plans to maintain consistent cell phone and discipline policies and allow academy students to continue electives and collaborations at the high school. Dr. Libby said research data supporting the change will be posted on the district website and linked to a PowerPoint and Google Sheet for community review.
Trustee Schumacher, who said she proposed separating ninth graders years before joining the board, voiced support based on her review of research and asked for patience during the transition year. Chair Wright said the change is part of a larger plan that includes a future connected high school; the board envisions retaining a ninth‑grade pod when the new high school connects to the satellite site.
District staff said individualized scheduling questions raised by students — for example, 0‑hour classes or athletics — will be accommodated where feasible so a student may remain at the high school for an early elective or be bussed to the Ninth Grade Center if needed.
The district will publish the full presentation, data and a FAQ on the district’s webpage and invited parents and students to contact Dr. Libby with additional questions.
The presentation and subsequent trustee remarks took place during the Education Corner and Superintendent Highlights portions of the April 14 meeting; board members indicated operational details (transport, staffing, lunches, and posted data) will guide implementation in the coming months.
