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District officials are exploring the most efficient way to reduce the number of grade-level transitions for students within the Poplar Bluff school system, following the solicitation of both internal and external feedback throughout the long-range planning process.
Nearly twice as many patrons who completed a district-wide survey earlier this month favor consolidating grade spans, and more than half of the respondents supported adding up to two grades back to the lower elementary configuration. The sentiment was echoed by the majority of schools during an interactive session with staff last month.
The consideration, if approved by the Board of Education next month, would involve the removal of the upper elementary center concept, shifting the district’s priority back to neighborhood schools pre-1997, before the former 5th & 6th Grade Center on Oak Grove Road opened. Redistricting would promote equity and improve traffic flow, proponents believe.
"What worked 5, 10, 20 years ago is no longer effective in providing our kids the best education, and that absolutely involves grade and building configurations," said parent Christy Frazier-Moore, who has served on the Long-Range Planning Committee since November. “For the past year, there has been a group of community members, including myself, and Poplar Bluff school staff/board members that have spent a great deal of time pouring over data, reviewing polls from the community and holding candid discussions of pros and cons of what has worked in the past and the best path for moving forward.”
The BOE hired Dake Wells Architecture in October to guide the district's next facilities master plan. The previous 10-year plan effectively added over 300,000 square feet of academic space across the district since 2016. The starting point of the Springfield-based architectural firm has been to produce a total of 58 reports, grading each school facility within all campuses, while touring the district and interviewing building leaders.
“Their process has been very professional and from what I’ve observed, they’ve done a pretty thorough job bringing in folks throughout the community, and spent a good amount of time in school buildings,” said committee member Dave Elledge, BOE liaison. “I think they have a good feel for who we are as PB R-I, but I also think it’s important to get that outside perspective because sometimes when you’re on the inside, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees.”
Deciding factors going forward include assessing underutilized classroom space and site constraints, and avoiding extensive renovations on buildings that received the lowest facility condition assessment score. “Staying the course and maintaining status quo would actually be one of the most expensive options,” noted Dr. Shawn Randles, Dake Wells educational specialist.
“The whole point of strategic planning is to do what’s best for students in the most cost-effective, beneficial way for our community,” stated Charles Kinsey, R-I assistant superintendent of business. “We either Band-Aid our facilities or reallocate that funding that would be spent toward new projects, costing less over the same period of time.”
According to district plans dating back to 1994, education leaders originally considered moving the former High School from Victory Lane to its current location on Oak Grove Road; however, it was determined that the cost to build new was outside of the district’s bonding capacity. Instead, the smaller 5th & 6th Grade Center would be opened in what was reportedly touted as the first new school facility in 30 years, resulting in another building transition.
An all-inclusive secondary campus was ultimately established on the Oak Grove acreage almost a decade ago, when the 5th & 6th Grade Center was relocated to the Victory Lane campus. This move led to the introduction of the Middle School, integrating grade four into the configuration, with the intent of providing the elementary schools with requisite room to expand.
After test fitting over a dozen possible scenarios, a tentative path has emerged that entails adding grades four and five back to the elementary configuration and sixth grade to the Junior High grade span by pruning across the district to make space for modern construction. “We pushed the scenarios just far enough to know this could actually work,” commented Addison Jones, Dake Wells architect.
A demographic study slated to be released by Business Information Services in October will confirm whether student population projections have stagnated and a reduction in campus-wide square footage is in fact warranted. The district will seek further input from its larger Citizens’ Advisory Council, representing a diverse cross-section of citizens, with the goal of finalizing the plan by spring.
"A very strategic, data-driven approach has been our intention and focus, evaluating the age, condition, lifespan and functionality of our facilities for today's instruction," explained Dr. Aaron Cornman, R-I superintendent. "An overarching theme is less transitions; a strong majority of parents have stated they want students to remain together longer, so we are considering how we can achieve this goal."
Above: During a long-range planning meeting in March before the tornado caused a reset, Brandon Dake of Dake Wells Architecture leads a grade-configuration exercise with one of multiple teams that included (clockwise) Patty Robertson, Sara Woodard, Lanny Corcimiglia, Morgan McIntosh and Mike Anderle.
Below: Dr. Shawn Randles and Addison Jones of Dake Wells Architecture visit with Poplar Bluff High School staff on Thursday, Aug. 14, kicking off a series of interactive sessions across the district utilizing Mentimeter software to solicit feedback.
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