Elkhart Community Schools details staffing, buses and construction ahead of 6th‑grade move to middle schools

Elkhart Community Schools officials presented an update on the district’s plan to move sixth‑grade students into the three middle schools, outlining staffing timelines, transportation changes, phased construction and supports for English learners and students with disabilities.

The presentation, delivered at the district’s Jan. 28 public work session, covered staffing and placement plans, a Transfinder routing study that shrank secondary walk zones from 2 miles to 1 mile, facility upgrades at Northside, Westside and Pierre Moran middle schools and instructional scheduling for sixth grade.

Why it matters: The transition affects student assignments, daily schedules, bus eligibility and building work before next school year. Officials said they are trying to keep ride times and overall costs stable while expanding access to district transportation and classroom services.

Staffing and timeline Maggie Lozano, director of human services, told the board the staffing committee met in December and is finalizing a selection process and timeline. The committee plans to offer staff a selection form in early February and to notify teachers of placements by March 28. Lozano said placement decisions will consider core‑content needs and supports such as English learner instruction, high‑ability programming and special education. The staffing committee was scheduled to meet again the week after the presentation to finalize the selection form.

Transportation and routing Brandon Berger, director of transportation, said the district worked with Transfinder to run an efficiency study and reduce secondary walk zones from two miles to one. Berger said the change “will potentially add 615 new riders that we will be able to utilize our buses,” and will not require adding routes to the district’s current total of 93 routes. Berger added that recorded afternoon trips were restructured to maximize routing efficiency and that the change carries no additional cost to the district.

Danielle Roberts of Transfinder said the company restructured stops and removed empty stops, routing more students inside the newly tightened walk zones. “We were able to put together all of your trips and do it with no new buses,” she said. Board members asked about ride times; Roberts and Berger said overall ride times remain “within the parameters you had before,” although individual stops and stop orders will change.

Facilities and timeline for construction Tony Giannetti, chief operating officer, reported that construction work is underway. He said the first phase focused on sixth‑grade areas at each middle school and that demolition, painting and lighting work were complete, with carpet and ceiling installation beginning the following day. Giannetti said phase 1 was expected to finish by the end of the week, with phase 2 to begin the following Monday.

Giannetti also said the district installed new outdoor signs, upgraded public address systems, added card access readers at the three middle schools and modernized drinking fountains. He said the project will replace roughly 1,000 T‑12 fixtures per middle school with LED lighting, cutting energy use by about 75% per fixture. Sixteen custodians volunteered to assist with demolition and moving, which Giannetti said reduced demolition costs by an estimated 50%.

Instructional schedule and student supports Dr. Amy Rausch, assistant superintendent of academics, said the instruction committee finalized a sixth‑grade schedule that blends elementary and middle‑school models: students will be taught in teams of three teachers for core subjects, with longer core periods of 77 minutes (compared with 55 minutes in seventh and eighth grades), two 55‑minute related‑arts periods and a daily 30‑minute advisory.

Special education and English learner supports Lindsey Brander said special education teams are planning supports for students shifting to the middle schools. She said planners anticipate roughly 30–40 students per middle school requiring individualized supports, will provide push‑in services for core classes and are adding an “intense interventions” classroom at Westside Middle School.

The district’s EL director, Lopez Bonner, said the projected influx of English learner students required requests for additional EL positions. She said the district projected “about 70‑something” additional EL students spread across the three middle schools and that an example figure of about 81 additional EL students had been used in planning; she said Westside currently has about 118 EL students with only one EL position and will receive a second EL teacher.

High‑ability programming and other supports Lisa Arenberger, director of high ability programming, said the district will add sixth grade to existing honors and intensive high‑ability offerings at the middle schools, continue honors sections at all three middle schools and maintain a Westside cohort for intensive acceleration. She said the district will review identification and programming during the next evaluation cycle in 2026–27 and continues to train staff to support high‑ability learners.

Communications and community engagement Aaron Weidler, communications director, said the district maintains a 6th‑grade transition landing page with FAQs, posted materials and biweekly staff and monthly family messages via ParentSquare and the district website. The district is collecting photos and video and plans testimonial and tour nights after spring break so families can see progress, meet building principals and ask transportation and registration questions.

Budget and cost context Dr. Hough, the district superintendent, framed the transportation efficiencies and in‑house demolition work as cost‑saving measures. He noted that adding even a single new bus route can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; he said the district avoided adding routes while expanding bus eligibility. Giannetti said the custodial support and in‑house demolition work cut outside demolition costs by “at least 50%.”

Next steps and timing Officials said staff placement notices are planned by March 28, the staffing selection form will go out in early February after the staffing committee finalizes it, and parent tours of middle‑school spaces are intended after spring break and will coincide with registration nights. The district will present another transition update in February after staffing committee meetings and the end of a still‑open retirement incentive window that could affect staffing numbers.

The presentation assembled information from staffing, transportation, facilities, instruction and special programs and officials said the committees will continue to refine placements and schedules before the start of the next school year.