SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : District Considers Middle Schools

The Capistrano Unified School District is considering a series of changes in how sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are taught.

Harold Hester, a district administrator, said the changes might include exposing sixth-graders to more than one teacher while cutting back from six the number of teachers that seventh- and eighth-graders see daily.

The changes would be part of the district’s long-term goal of establishing middle schools, where sixth-graders would be taught along with seventh- and eighth-graders, Hester said.

Currently, the junior high schools begin at seventh grade.

“We need to realize that (sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders) are closer physically, emotionally and mentally to each other than they are to older and younger students,” Hester said.

The state Department of Education has asked districts to consider moving to a middle school system, citing studies that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders perform better in middle schools.

Of Orange County’s 25 unified and elementary school districts, six have middle schools, while two others have both middle schools and junior high schools.

The other 17 are on a junior high school system.

Hester said one change that might be made at the sixth-grade level in Capistrano is more “team teaching.” For example, one teacher might feel more comfortable teaching math than social studies. Another teacher might feel the opposite.

The stronger math instructor would teach math to both classes, while the stronger social studies teacher would take both classes for history.

At the seventh- and eighth-grade level, he said, there might be more flexibility in scheduling. For example, the seventh-grade history teachers might decide that their students should see a movie about the Civil War. Instead of showing it throughout the day to eight different classes of 30 students each, all 240 students would see it during one assembly.

“That is just a lot more efficient,” he said, leaving more time for classroom discussion.

Parent meetings are scheduled to discuss the proposed changes. The meetings will be held at the following schools: Castille Elementary, 7:30 p.m. Monday; Moulton Elementary, 7 p.m. Thursday; Viejo Elementary, 7 p.m. Feb. 12; Carol H. Hankey Elementary, 3 p.m. Feb. 12; Philip Reilly Elementary, 2:45 p.m. Feb. 20.

Meetings at other elementary schools will be scheduled, officials said.