By Chris Wilson

Despite some insight into what the school board’s thoughts are regarding a plan to move the Newberry Elementary fifth grade to Oak View Middle School, parents, students, teachers and administrators in Newberry still are waiting for a decision on the plan. A great deal of questions were answered and new questions were posed when School Board of Alachua County officials met with parents at a public hearing at Oak View Middle School on January 14.

In fact, deputy superintendent Sandy Hollinger answered a list of 13 prepared questions that have been of concern to Newberry school officials and parents. Hollinger says parent surveys have been vital in the formation of the plan. “No definite plan has been made,” she says. “Newberry will not be on the (school board’s) agenda until we’ve heard from parents.”

As far as moving fifth graders to Oak View Middle School, administrators say they’ve picked out a specific area on campus for fifth grade classes. The only other students in that particular building would be sixth grade students and teachers and the building is located close to the school’s cafeteria. The fifth graders would share restrooms in that building with sixth graders (some parents were concerned about their children sharing bathrooms with teenagers).

Fifth graders also would have the same amount of physical education and recess as they would receive at Newberry Elementary. All fifth graders also would enjoy the same lunch period and would dine separately from the three other grades. Upon their arrival at school, fifth and sixth graders would be supervised in the cafeteria, while seventh and eighth graders would be supervised in the gym.

As far as curriculum goes, the fifth graders would still have the opportunity to participate in the gifted program. There would still be a computer lab and fifth graders would have the option of choosing either chorus or band for music. What was left unclear by Hollinger and other administrators is whether fifth graders would participate in art.

There still are a number of issues that have yet to be figured out. The most important of those, according to most parents involved, is transportation. According to what is being planned now, fifth graders could be asked to ride the bus to school with middle and high school students. After a number of parents objected to such a plan, Hollinger said an alternative would be to have the fifth graders ride on the bus with Newberry Elementary students and have that bus make a stop at Oak View. However, different dismissal and start times at the two schools could make the logistics of such a plan challenging.

Many parents were concerned about fifth graders in Newberry missing out on safety patrol duties, which includes a trip to Washington, D.C., with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office at the end of the school year. According to Hollinger, there would still be fifth grade safety patrols at Oak View, but they would have different duties than elementary school patrolers. These patrols would run errands for teachers and administrators and help with other duties around school, such as volunteering in the media center.

Another part of the plan that has not been worked out is the availability of after-school care for the fifth graders. Hollinger says if there is enough interest on the part of sixth grade parents, administrators would potentially offer an after-school program to fifth and sixth graders at Oak View. She says another alternative would be to bring fifth graders to Newberry Elementary after school to be a part of that program.

Other concerns about moving the fifth grade to Oak View included having age-appropriate library books available for the students and having available after-school care for students at the middle school. A number of parents also were concerned that their children would be going from being “upperclassmen” at the elementary school to being the “new kids” at the middle school, without having really gotten the opportunity to be true “upperclassmen.”

Hollinger says there would be a number of orientation events to help the students become comfortable with the move to their new environment.

As far as fixing Newberry Elementary’s overcrowding problem by building a new school, Hollinger says it would be at least 4-5 years before there is a new facility.

For more information, visit www.sbac.edu.