Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the 6 8 Transition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District lays out multi‑year plan to return sixth graders to middle schools and expand CTE access
Summary
The district presented a multi‑session, four‑year implementation plan that includes master schedule prototypes, capacity audits and CTE pathway alignment with Merced Union High School District. Trustees and committee members emphasized careful sequencing, facility needs and teacher supports before full rollout.
District staff and a 30‑member committee presented the November phase of a multi‑year transition plan to return sixth graders to Merced middle schools and expand access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways.
Deputy Superintendent Francisco Romo framed the project as a multi‑session improvement process tied to a 2030 vision poster and a four‑year implementation timetable. Work to date included visioning exercises, student scenario planning (to test access for students needing interventions or special education supports), prototype master schedules for candidate middle schools and a facilities and lab needs assessment. Committee voting prioritized pathways that participants considered viable locally — agriculture, art/media, education/child development, health/science and information technology among the top choices — and district staff said they are coordinating with Merced Union High School District to align middle‑school exploration courses with high‑school CTE pathways.
Principals, counselors and teachers on the committee tested student scenarios (for example: a seventh grader who needs daily math intervention yet wants to join a health‑science pathway and remain in band) and discussed trade‑offs between core support blocks and elective access. Facilities staff ran a capacity audit and identified short‑ and long‑term modernization priorities tied to labs, water/gas hookups and flexible seating for CTE classrooms. The team emphasized the need for time and resources for teachers moving into middle‑school roles, and trustees repeated the request for clear staffing timelines and updated capacity numbers before final commitments.
District said session three in December will narrow master‑schedule options and that March deliverables will include updated notes on facilities and staffing. Trustees and committee members urged thorough communication with families and inclusion of student and parent voices; one trustee asked that students and parents be included as formal committee participants going forward.
Next steps: district will return to the board in March with summary materials, updated site capacities and recommended pathways and will continue coordination with Merced Union High School District about course alignment.
