Norwalk : Middle School Study Group

A new committee of parents, teachers and administrators is beginning its study of whether the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District should revive the intermediate school system it disbanded a decade ago as a cost-cutting measure.

The committee was appointed by the school board in response to complaints about the district’s system of placing seventh-graders in elementary schools and eighth-graders in high school. Some parents--who have found a spokesman in board member Sal Ambriz--argue that the students suffer both academically and socially in such settings, and should attend their own intermediate schools.

One of the first tasks of the 26-member study group, called the Middle School Advisory Committee, will be to review a staff report dealing with the issue. The committee is expected to arrive at a recommendation by early summer.