Laramie County School District I Superintendent Mark Stock says a plan to build 5th and 6th grade schools to ease overcrowding in the district could also help students transition to junior high school.

Stock says district studies show that many students have a hard time transitioning to junior high in 7th grade. Stock says for many students the transition challenges are often reflected by a drop in grades. He says the change is made more difficult by the fact that many students go from a small group of friends and teachers in elementary school to a much larger school with all new classmates, teachers and surroundings.

The superintendent says a proposal the district is considering to build six 56th grades schools in the district--two in each triad--would allow students to first transition to an only slightly larger school in 5th grade, along with students they already know.

The school facilities commission on Friday released a report offering the 5th6th grade schools as one of four options to help the district meet a state mandated 16-1 student teacher ratio in grades k-3. Stock says the district has already been looking at that plan, and sees the transition benefits as an additional argument in it's favor.

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