After they recognized the anti-vaping poster contest winners, the Christian County School Board approved the closure of the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, the establishment of an early learning center, school grade redistributions and more at their meeting on Thursday.
The board’s discussion and approval items focused on the redistribution of students and school campuses. The board started by approving the closure of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary school at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
The board then approved to relocate Hopkinsville Middle School to what will be the former Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School campus and for Indian Hills Elementary School to relocate to the Hopkinsville Middle School Campus.
Regarding student redistribution, following the 2023-2024 school year the board approved for Indian Hills, Millbrooke and Freedom Elementary Schools to move from teaching students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to teaching students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Along with those schools, the board approved for Crofton, Sinking Fork, South Christian and Pembroke Elementary Schools to move from teaching students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade to teaching students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
Sixth grade students will transition from being taught at district elementary schools to attending district middle schools starting at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. Assistant Superintendent, Jessica Addison says the grade move will allow students to have more time to get adjusted to middle school before they move on to high school.
Addison says sixth graders at the middle schools will have classes in their own separate wing, mirroring the freshman academies at the high schools.
Along with moving sixth graders to the middle schools, the Indian Hills Elementary School campus was approved by the board to become the Martin Luther King Jr. Early Learning Center which will house preschool classes and the Inspire Early Learning Academy.
The early learning center will open at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year to preschool students in the Indian Hills, Millbrooke and Freedom Elementary School attendance zones. Director of Pupil Personnel, Melanie Barrett says by housing an early learning center at the Indian Hills campus, they will have space to grow.
With schools either closing or relocating, the board discussed and approved updated attendance zones. District Technology Coordinator, Jason Wilson says all of the elementary school attendance zone have slightly shifted because of the closing of Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. Wilson says they were able to align the district lines close to community lines.
Concluding the meeting the meeting the board approved the 2024-2025 school year. Next year students will be started school on August 26.