A big change is coming for soon-to-be sixth-grade students in the Edgewood Independent School District.
Instead of starting next school year in their respective middle schools, all sixth-grade students will be headed to the 6th Grade Academy, which will be located at the Hoelscher campus, right next to Brentwood Middle School.
Edgewood ISD spokesman Roland Martinez said administrators decided to open the academy to ease the transition from elementary to middle school.
"Sixth grade is very important in a student's life and education," said Martinez. "They have one foot out of elementary and one foot in junior high. So we felt like putting them in their own campus in the 6th grade, will help them with the transition."
All 800 sixth-grade students from the three middle schools within the Edgewood School District will be housed at one location -- the current Hoelscher campus.
This past school year, just the sixth-grade students from Brentwood Middle School attended classes at the Hoelscher campus in anticipation of the academy opening the following year.
"The sixth-grade students at Brentwood were housed here as sort of a practice," said Martinez. "And, so far, the results have been great. The sixth-grade students have benefitted from that campus."
Lizet Casas, who has a daughter in the fifth grade right now, said she has been a little worried about her little girl leaving elementary school.
"My husband and I were concerned about her even going to Middle School at all," said Casas. "It's a huge transition period."
However, Casas said knowing that her daughter is now headed to a sixth-grade academy instead of a middle school makes her feels better.
"I think that the maturity levels, the difference between sixth-graders and eighth-graders is very different," she said. "So I think that gives them a little more time to develop the social skills to learn how to deal with that age group."
To learn more about the new 6th Grade Academy, visit the district's Web site.
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