Shakopee prepares to shuffle its grades

It can be a turbulent transition from the safety of a nurturing elementary school classroom to the tempestuous halls of junior high.

That's one of the reasons many Shakopee parents nod in approval when they hear of plans to open a sixth-grade center next fall. The students will have lockers, switch classes and learn how to manage some of that additional freedom without peer pressure from older teens.

"It will be nice to ease them into those middle school years," said Jane Lutz, whose daughter attends fourth grade at Red Oak Elementary. "This allows for a less intimidating environment."

It's one of a series of changes parents are digesting in the wake of Shakopee Public Schools' unprecedented growth. The district also will add a second junior high next fall.

The number of students in the district has grown from 6,100 in 2007 to 7,300. While many other Twin Cities districts are experiencing shrinking student bodies, demographers predict that the Shakopee student population could soar to 8,300 by 2016.

District officials have hosted open houses this winter laying out the changes that will go into effect next fall and explaining why they're necessary. Superintendent Rod Thompson, who started in August, said he's been impressed with the community's overall response.

"As long as you can show them the numbers, this is a trusting community," Thompson said. "They want the evidence -- the mathematical formula. Once you show them the proof, they are very supportive and trusting we will do the right things."

"We are happy. The schools are great and it makes pretty obvious sense," said Kettler, whose daughter attends third grade at Eagle Creek Elementary. "It makes sense with the numbers and it makes sense with the buildings they have in place."

The new sixth-grade center will be located at the former Pearson Elementary School site, which was closed in the spring of 2011. The center will serve 575 sixth-graders and include some new pre-engineering classes for all students.

"We are going to be able to create a small learning community of sixth-graders," Thompson said. "It is the age of hormones and tennis shoes."

"Some of those most difficult adjustment periods are during that sixth-grade term."

Adding a second junior high will allow the district to accommodate its 1,600 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders. Students will be divided between the existing junior high and the new school, which will be located at the current middle school site.

Each will have about 800 students and approximately the same number of students receiving free and reduced-cost lunches and students with limited English proficiency. About 33 percent of the district's junior high students receive free or reduced lunch and 9 percent have limited English proficiency, Thompson said.

The district is now mapping out staffing at the schools. Teachers are submitting their preferences in writing. Some teachers will travel between schools during the week.

The school board has budgeted $4.2 million to update the three affected buildings.

If growth continues as predicted, the district will likely need to build a second high school in the next five years. That would result in another series of building shifts that will ripple through all grade levels.

It's a lot for families to absorb, especially for those who already experienced change when the district adjusted its elementary schools to accommodate growth. Last spring, the district built Jackson Elementary, shuttered Pearson Elementary and redrew boundaries for all five of its elementary schools.

While parents seem more divided on the long-range plans to add a second high school, many seem to accept the changes at the junior-high level.

"I have been happy. We are a growing community," Lutz said. "You have to continue to invest in education and anticipate the changes that come with a growing community. I think it's an exciting time for us."

Karen Spahn, whose son attends Jackson Elementary, said she feels comfortable with the changes.

"They don't build a new building unless they have to. They have been extremely financially conservative," Spahn said. "You have to deal with the growth. I am personally comfortable that they have done the best they can."

Longtime school board member Mary Romansky said she knows firsthand the growing pains. He daughter attended four different Shakopee public schools in five years. Romansky said it was her attitude as a parent that most greatly affected her daughter's school experience. She counsels frustrated parents to put on a positive face.