District 1 Working to Ease Jr. High Transition

Laramie County School District 1 is working to find ways to ease the transition between 6th grade and Junior High School, according to district Director of Instruction Marc LaHiff.

He says studies of students within the district shows a clear drop-off in academic performance for many students when they hit seventh grade. LaHiff says one factor in the decline may be the fact that students are often transitioned from a small, local elementary school to a larger junior high. LaHiff says the district has been studying how to address the needs of those students more effectively and how to generally ease the transition.

He also says the district has a proposal before the state Schools Facility Commission is a proposal to build fifth and sixth grade schools to ease the transition, by allowing a more gradual move from elementary school to junior high.