Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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Linda Bost, special projects director, was asked by Landry to get information by directors of all school departments, from personnel to principals to transportation to exceptional children.
“Everybody has a part in this,” Bost said.
Her job has been to meet with all the directors and get their feedback on, not if the reorganization should occur, but how it could best be implemented.
“They will be given ample opportunity for their input on how the plan is to be implemented. The more we work on it, the easier it will be. It is a change, a pretty dynamic change, and sometimes, people don’t do well with change. But the directors and principals and teachers and everyone involved will rise to the occasion and do what’s best for the children. They always have and they always will.”
Bost said she hopes to have all the information to the board by Feb. 1.
As far as Landry is concerned, reorganization is the only way to go to serve students developmentally and deal with overcrowding in the high school and a growing population in the elementary schools.
“Developmentally, sixth graders are still young enough to attend K-6 schools where they respond well to an environment more conducive to them. Sixth graders, when you examine physical, emotional, social and intellectual developments, are better suited in the K-6 environment.”
Based on research from the Terry Sanford Institute at Duke University, Landry said, “Exposing sixth graders to older peers has negative and lasting consequences on their academic trajectories.”
The research shows sixth graders in elementary schools do better on standardized testing than those sixth graders who are in a middle school environment. From an emotional development standpoint, it is more ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.