Proposed Huston Middle School realignment separates 5th and 8th grade students

The proposed reconfiguration of Charles A. Huston Middle School in Lower Burrell accommodates an additional grade level and separates younger students from older students without rearranging much of the building.

“This is what the administrative team has developed over time and lots of conversations,” said Burrell Superintendent Shannon Wagner. “This is the best-case scenario, we think, to keep fifth and sixth (grades) apart from seventh and eighth (grades.)”

The Huston task force — comprising about 20 parents and staff and charged with reviewing building reconfigurations to accommodate the closure of Stewart Elementary School next year — got a first look at Wagner’s proposal this week.

The school board in October opted to close Stewart because of declining enrollment, aging infrastructure and for district staff to focus resources on three buildings instead of four. It also decided to send fourth grade students to Bon Air Elementary and fifth grade students to Huston next school year.

The proposed plan at the middle school includes six fifth grade classrooms, one personalized learning coach and a special education teacher transferred from Stewart to the middle school.

The proposal places all fifth grade classrooms on Huston’s first floor, as well as two sixth grade classrooms. The four other sixth grade classrooms would be on the second floor, as well as seventh and eighth grade classrooms.

“The eighth graders will not be in the same hall as fifth grade,” Huston Assistant Principal Krista Pisano said.

Other first-floor classrooms near fifth grade include an intensive support room, sensory room, emotional support and fifth grade learning support. Sixth grade students may also use the fifth-grade learning support room, or share the upstairs room with seventh grade, Pisano said. That has yet to be determined.

“Both of those rooms are large, and we can schedule when they’ll be in there with kids,” she said.

Eighth grade learning support students would have their own classroom upstairs.

“Specialists” — such as physical education, art and music teachers — will be able to accommodate the extra grade without major modifications to their schedules, Pisano said.

“The rest of the building is really staying the same,” she said.

The task force reviewing Bon Air’s reconfiguration got a look at its proposed building reconfiguration last week and is to present its recommendations to Wagner this week.

With the reconfiguration, there would be no additions needed at Huston; and only an add-on to Bon Air’s cafeteria if it were to remain a kindergarten-through-fourth grade building. If district officials wanted to move fifth grade to Bon Air the following year, six additional classrooms would need to be added to that building.

The task forces are scheduled to present their recommendations to the school board during a meeting in March.

Even with the proposed reconfiguration at Huston, two empty rooms remain.

Currently, there are about 130 students each in fourth and fifth grades at Stewart, said its principal, Autumn Turk.

Huston’s overall enrollment this year is around 380 students, Pisano said.