Published Online: July 10, 2013

Monroe district considers closing junior high

MONROE, La. (AP) — The Monroe City School District is considering closing Martin Luther King Junior High as part of an overall effort to address problems with low student achievement. The prospect has parents concerned and board members waiting for more details.

Superintendent Brent Vidrine told The News-Star (http://tnsne.ws/13B2LwS ) Tuesday all options are on the table as the district strives to determine how to better serve the students at MLK and Carroll Junior High, both of which have been labeled by the state Department of Education as academically unacceptable.

Vidrine says one of the plans being considered would close MLK and move seventh-graders from the school to Carroll Junior High. Eighth-graders from MLK would transfer to Wossman High School while eighth-graders at Carroll Junior High would transfer to Carroll High School. The plan would use grant money to establish a seventh-grade center at Carroll Junior High for students who would have attended MLK and Carroll Junior High.

Parents assembled in an impromptu meeting with Vidrine on Monday to express concerns about the possible closure of the school and moving students, particularly eighth-graders to high school campuses.

"I'm excited about the level of parental involvement we have with this," Vidrine said Tuesday. "This shows we have a good core group of parents interested in improving educational opportunities for students."

MLK principal Alvin Williams shared parental concerns about adding eighth-graders to high school campuses.

"Many are not mentally prepared to be on a high school campus," he said. "We know that we can try to implement things to keep the eighth-graders separate from the high school students, but in the end, kids will be kids."

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Information from: The News-Star, http://www.thenewsstar.com


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