Editor, Gazette-Journal:
In response to the article (Gazette-Journal, March 21, 2024) on the decision by Mathews County Public Schools to move the eighth grade to the high school:
I know that I am not the only parent who was not able to attend the board meeting, through which a decision was made. However, it does need to be articulated very clearly through the widest public format possible: what are the expected educational and social benefits inherent to the move?If the benefits are more financial than socio-educational, then it is not a good move. Conducting the eighth grade in the high school will enforce an overarching and uncommon “early exit” model employed by MCPS, as currently the fifth grade is conducted inside of the middle school. There are undoubtedly some benefits to this model but it is unique if not unorthodox in the way of Virginia public schools. There is nothing wrong with unorthodoxy in general. However and again, the sociological benefits need to be determined and s...