Some Parents Favor Middle School Option

SIMI VALLEY — Though it’s not right for every sixth-grader, a significant minority of parents here say they would like to have the choice of sending their sons and daughters to a middle school instead of an elementary.

But that view is far from unanimous, judging from testimony at a public hearing Friday during the school board’s annual planning retreat.

Hoping to keep their children innocent, safe and happy for a final year, most Simi Valley parents would like to see sixth-graders remain at their neighborhood elementaries, they said Friday.

The public hearing preceded the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, at which trustees will decide how to make room for smaller third-grade classes. Among the options is a proposal to move some students--on a voluntary basis--from elementary to middle school.

“We are looking at this as a choice,” trustee Janice DiFatta said at the three-hour hearing attended by about 40 parents. “This is not a mandatory program, nor do we project it to [ever] be. This is a school district that supports choice--that’s why we have fundamental schools and a magnet high school.”

As proof of the desire for middle-school choice, officials pointed to the results of a Simi Valley Unified School District survey sent to parents of 1,395 fifth-graders this week.

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Of the 1,037 parents who responded, about 62% said they would prefer to keep their children at a neighborhood elementary. The other 28% said they would send their sixth-graders to the local middle school in September if the option were available.

A similar number of parents said they would send their children to middle school even if it meant a daily drive or bus ride across town.

“Clearly there is an interest in having this as an option,” DiFatta said.

At the hearing, trustees listened to testimony from about 20 parents, most of whom opposed moving their sixth-graders to middle school. A few even objected to having the choice open for other families.

“I feel like kids grow up too quickly,” said parent Belinda Bragginton. “There’s too much out there for them to get into. . . . I just think that, by moving those kids up, you’re asking for trouble.”

Trustee Diane Collins saw things differently, saying she supported a voluntary move to middle school, which would give students who are bored in elementary school a chance to take music, gym and language classes for variety.

“Can anyone give me a reason to not make this an option for other people’s children, even if your own child isn’t old enough, mature enough or interested in middle school?” Collins asked.

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Involved in an anti-middle school petition drive that has attracted about 700 signatures, parent Kay Ferguson gave it a stab. Fence-sitting trustees, she said, were avoiding tough decisions by touting choice.

“We put you into office to do the right thing for the children of Simi Valley,” she said. “Now do it.”

Other parents seemed intrigued by the middle school concept.

“My son, who is in fifth grade, is more than willing to go to middle school,” said Gayle Stiller. “He’s looking forward to it.”

Prompted by a $771-million state incentive program, Simi Valley trustees have voted to trim first-, second- and third-grade classes to 20 or fewer students. Making room for the smaller classes has been the tricky part.

With classroom space available at middle schools, moving some sixth-graders there at a cost of $25,000 is the cheapest space-making option, according to Dave Kanthak, assistant superintendent for business services.

Other options include buying 16 portable classrooms for an estimated $980,000, reopening Arroyo Elementary for about $1.2 million and shifting to a year-round calendar for an estimated $100,000.

Though most trustees spoke favorably about the prospect of middle-school choice, there was some dissent.

Trustee Norm Walker fretted that the optional middle school program would create a “caste system” between sixth-graders who attend elementary school and middle school.