Plan Would Group Schools by Grade

In a novel approach to reducing class sizes in the first, second and third grades, school officials are considering a plan to form clusters of neighborhood schools and divide them by grade.

The Garden Grove Unified School District’s complicated plan calls for four clusters of three schools each, with two schools in each cluster devoted to kindergarten through third grades and one housing fourth through sixth grades.

The new approach to reducing class sizes in the county’s second-largest school district was presented to the board during its meeting Tuesday night. Board members will conduct a series of community meetings from Tuesday through Jan. 27 to get public input on the plan. A vote on the concept is expected during the board’s Feb. 4 meeting.

Art Becker, district business manager, said the schools that would be involved are: R.F. Hazard, Rosita and Heritage schools in one cluster, with Heritage devoted to fourth through sixth grades; Ethel M. Evans, Gilbert and Faylane in a second cluster, with Faylane housing fourth through sixth; Clinton-Mendenhall, Riverdale and Dwight D. Eisenhower in the third cluster, with Eisenhower having the higher grades; and Leo Carrillo, Thomas Paine and Susan B. Anthony schools in the final group, with Anthony having fourth through sixth.

In addition to restructuring student populations, the plan calls for adding about 100 so-called “teacher stations” by remodeling existing classrooms. As much as $7 million could be required for the suggested remodeling.