Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 9, 1993 TAG: 9312090482
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Charles Stebbins
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Short
The school administration, planning for a September 1994 opening, will hold a meeting in January to get comments from members of the school board, parents, teachers and other staff people.
"We want to give everybody a chance for input," said Superintendent Dallas Helems.
Before anything is chiseled in stone, Helems said, a detailed explanation of the philosophy of the middle school concept will be given to the public.
The school will house grades six through eight and will become a transition from elementary to high school.
Helems, in a preliminary report to the school board Tuesday said he hopes the middle school can be started without an additional building.
Four modular classrooms will form the core for middle school classrooms along with several classrooms in McCleary Elementary School.
Helems said that so far, personnel, space and curriculum have been discussed only in general terms and he does not expect to have any specifics until after the January meeting.
Craig, one of the smallest school divisions in the state with only 675 students this term, began discussing the middle school concept several years ago when the state education officials hinted that all localities would be required to have them.
Although the state has dropped that mandate, the Craig County School Board decided to go ahead with a middle school to provide a smoother transition from elementary to high school.
The county has only one elementary and one high school.
by CNB