New Market Elementary Students To Move To Rush Strong School For 6th, 7th and 8th Grade
Jefferson County students attending New Market Elementary School will no longer attend middle school at Jefferson Middle School. Action taken earlier this month by the Jefferson County School Board will send students attending New Market Elementary School to Rush Strong School for their 6th, 7th and 8th grade years. Students that are currently attending Jefferson Middle School will be “grandfathered” and will be allowed to complete their middle school years at their current school.
Though most schools in Jefferson County, including Jefferson Middle School,are not over their enrollment capacity Rush Strong School has struggled in recent years to maintain enrollment numbers particularly in the middle school grades. Capacity for Rush Strong is around 700 students, according to information provided by the Department of Education. Currently, they have around 489 students enrolled in the school which houses grades k-8. Jefferson Middle School has a capacity of around 650 students and currently has an enrollment of around 600 students ( including those from feeder school New Market Elementary). Initially, enrollment numbers at Jefferson Middle School should decrease by an estimated 75 students leaving the school 125 below capacity.
The DOE is aware that some parents may elect to find other options for their rising sixth grade students in the New Market School zone. Director of Jefferson County Schools Arnold stated that the system would be accepting applications for waivers from families that have concerns regarding the redistricting of New Market Elementary School to the Rush Strong School district for the middle school years and request to attend Jefferson Middle School. He noted that the DOE is aware of the stress associated with redistricting and are working to make the change as easy as possible for students and families. Director Arnold stated that a bus will run to both Jefferson Middle School and Rush Strong School to transport middle school students and pick up will be from New Market Elementary School as has been customary in the past. The bus will run to both JMS and RSS for two years to accommodate students that are already currently attending JMS from the New Market zone. After two years, any parents that apply for and receive a waiver to attend Jefferson Middle School will be responsible for transportation to and from JMS. Buses will only be transporting middle school students to Rush Strong School in the 25/26 school year.
Though no decisions have been made regarding other redistricting system wide for Jefferson County students, it is an agenda item for upcoming school board meetings. Director Arnold expressed his willingness to work with families and knows that some issues, such as transportation, make it challenging for those that may wish to apply for a waiver but have conflicting schedules. He also noted that, while he does not anticipate a time that redistricting will be on an annual or semi annual schedule as it is in some larger school systems, it is likely moving away from “school zones” that are stagnate for many decades. This change comes as local school systems are pushed by state and federal mandates to provide more academic equity from school to school.
