The Jefferson County Board of Education tonight will consider a proposal that would "repurpose" the struggling Myers Middle School.Starting next year, the Myers building would cease to be a middle school.Under a plan to be presented to the board, sixth-graders assigned to Myers would instead be disperse to 11 JCPS middle schools: Carrithers, Westport, Highland, Thomas Jefferson, Newburg, Ramsey, Shawnee, Western, Noe, Highland and Meyzeek. Rising seventh- and eighth-grader would be allowed to finish middle school together at Waggener High School. In materials prepared for the board, JCPS officials said those students would still be allowed to participate in all middle school activities. Parents would also have the option of applying for a transfer.The Myers building in the Hikes Point area would be "repurposed to meet the needs identified in the long-range facilities plan," according to the agenda for tonight's board meeting. Those include early childhood education, alternative education, and English as a second language programs.School officials say the shift to Waggener would provide a fresh start, a better environment and role models for the Myers students. The officials noted, however, a concern about bullying from high school students.Myers Middle has been designated by the state as a "priority school," meaning it's persistently low-performing. Last year, Myers Middle School ranked in the first percentile in the state test system—a drop from the third percentile the year before, school officials said. Seventeen percent of all students were considered "proficient" or "distinguished" in reading and math.Earlier this year, the Jefferson County Board of Education approved restaffing Myersandremoved its principal.You can find more on the JCPS proposal for Myers in these materials gathered for tonight's meeting. My colleague Jake Ryan will be at the meeting. You can follow along with him on Twitter,and check back later for complete coverage.
