Bexley K-6 for Strong Kids Petition to the Board of Education

We moved here because of the school structure of K-6. I work at Montrose and have not met one sixth grade child who wishes they were at the middle school! That should speak volumes.

My daughter has also told me that she wants to stay at Maryland for 6th grade.

Middle School is long enough already and is the toughest part of school in the district. Please do not lengthen it more.

In case you are interested, you have, right here in Westerville, the National Headquarters of the Association for Middle Level Education. I know they have a plethora of information, research, publications & podcasts on this subject. They can also provide speakers who could help us all make an informed decision on this issue. They can be reached here: AMLE 4151 Executive Parkway Suite 300 Westerville OH 43081 614-895-4730 I hope this will help.

I don’t support moving the 6thgrade to the middle school. I fell that this decision is being rushed & is not considering what is best for the children in the district. Your decision is going have a lasting impact for all! Once you move forward there will be going back. I don’t believe that the school board has listened to the community. I want the school board to vote NO on the 6th grade moving to BMS.

Please address all of the concerns and questions presented on the site... http://www.keepbexleyK-6.com

Why change what works? We in South Bexley love Montrose with its current grade configuration. Our schools are why we pay exorbitant prices for our tiny homes with no closets!! Property values in Bexley are largely due to the excellent schools. Listen to what your constituents want!

As a recent graduate of BHS (I did not attend elementary or middle school at Bexley), with siblings currently at Montrose and BMS, I have heard firsthand the stories about Bexley elementary school experiences and they are overwhelmingly positive. I never heard anyone in my class at Bexley speak of their time in a Bexley elementary school in a negative way, and my siblings have all had good experiences. Having personally gone to Columbus School for Girls for middle school, which is 6-8th grade, I do remember feeling distant from the 7th and 8th graders in 6th grade. It is an enormous transition for students and in a co-ed space I can imagine it would be a big change socially that many kids would be better off waiting an extra year for. If there was real information that seemed to say a move to 6-8th grade was a good thing for the students, I would be all for it. But I believe this system works and we should allow the children in this community to remain children in elementary school for as long as they can, as it is obviously not harming them.

My gut feeling is that this change has not been wholly thought through. Are sixth graders successful in the current configuration?

I haven't heard a compelling argument for changing a successful K-6 format that provides an obvious benefit to the community while offseting possible risk. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind.

Seems like this once again was a done deal before involving parents and teachers!

Everything in our society today pushes our children to grow up faster. Why? Does it benefit the child? Our sixth graders are wonderful for our elementary schools and that environment is wonderful for them. Margie Harris, Retired Montrose Teacher

Though I no longer live in Bexley, I have a deep and abiding love of the city and school district after spending 30 years teaching at Montrose and seeing all three of my children graduate from BHS. From what I have read, I have not seen a compelling argument to justify making such a drastic shift to a structure that is already working and in which our students are consistently successful and excelling. In fact, I feel that the current K-6 configuration sets Bexley apart in a positive way and attracts people to our community who value the additional year of childhood that it provides. I can attest to the phenomenal job that our 6th grade teachers have done in developing a strong transitional year for our students... rigorous and challenging, yet supportive...guiding students into stronger peer bonds, self-confidence, and leadership roles, while building robust academic scaffolding. As a former art teacher, I have concerns as to how this restructuring would affect the delivery of the special area classes in a complex that seems already crowded and stretched. At Montrose, the question that always dominated every decision we made was "Is it good for kids?" In this case, I have not seen anything that makes me answer "yes."

The individuals who support this should have their names available so (if passed and when things go south), they can be held accountable for declining property values, declining education, and and an overall poor experience for the younger generations.

As a Bexley graduate, Bexley homeowner (not current resident though), retired elementary educator and a grandparent to three district students, I believe that this proposal must be backed by solid research. Furthermore, I believe if the district is performing exceptionally well, why does this change need to occur?

"Beef" up the 6th grade program

Keep grade 6 in elementary school

Keep 6th grade in elementary school

There are many configurations that could be considered, but we have one that works. Keeping 6th graders in elementary school makes sense. They are still children.

I haven't been persuaded that there are good reasons to make the change. I think holding off middle school influences for 6th grade is smart.