Cedar Falls Board of Education keeps current grade structure

Source: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, IowaJuly 23--CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Cedar Falls Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to keep its current school-grade structure in the district's elementary, junior and high school buildings.儲存Dan Conrad, director of secondary education, said keeping sixth-graders in an elementary structure and ninth-graders in a junior high structure served students best. To prove it, he presented the board with data to show that students in these grades already perform well academically and behaviorally in the current system."The alignment that we have supports the students especially in those critical years at sixth- and ninth-grade years," Conrad said.Cedar Falls is one of a few districts in the state with a kindergarten through sixth-grade elementary system and ninth-graders attending junior high.Conrad said declining enrollment is a nationwide trend and many districts are turning to a nine through 12 high school system. But Cedar Falls is a rare case in that enrollment is projected to increase by 900 students over the next decade; and 400 of those will be passing through high school."How big is too big of a high school? You're approaching 2,000 students in a high school, is that too many to try and manage and serve in a one-building setting? There's a number of small colleges that aren't anywhere near that size," Conrad said.He said if the district decided to renovate the Cedar Falls High School and absorb the ninth grade, it would cost an extra $16 million for a total renovation cost of $70.5 million. To build a new high school, including ninth grade, it would exceed the district's previous estimate of $74 million by about $22.6 million.Conrad said it would be much cheaper, around $17 million, to build a new elementary building instead.Though新蒲崗迷你倉the proposal passed 7-0, some board members said that they didn't want it to handicap the Minneapolis-based planning company the district already hired to work on a 10-year strategic facility plan."Aren't we maybe pigeon-holing them?" said board member Jim Brown. "I'm not doubting the data but by default we're hiring them for their expertise and maybe a bigger view and I don't want to guard against throwing them into a specific funnel."But Deon Senchina, board president, erred on the side of Conrad's presentation."I think we need to do what's research based and data driven which is what (Conrad) has showed us tonight," said Senchina.Superintendent Andy Pattee laid the issue to rest assuring the board that if the proposal passed, it could be revisited in the future.The board also unanimously approved joining the Iowa Urban Education Network, a lobbying group representing Iowa's largest districts.Cedar Falls will be an associate, or non-voting, member of the board for an annual fee of $5,000. Even so, board members agreed it was important for the district to be a part of the network's conversation."It truly is a powerful lobbying group," Pattee said. "And I think it would be beneficial for our students."The network represents Iowa's eight largest school districts, including Waterloo, and 10 associate member districts. It serves as an information support system and an influential body in state legislative decisions.The district will now have access to the network's analysis of legislation and the opportunity to send a representative to the group's lobbying day at the State Capitol each year.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) Visit Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa) at www.wcfcourier.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesmini storage