Arcadia Middle Schools

Not everyone in Arcadia is opposed to changing the junior highs into middle schools as might be supposed by reading the article in the Dec. 10 edition, “Parents Assail Plan to Revise School Levels.”

At the Board of Education meeting on Dec. 8, on which the article reported, 13 members of the public spoke against the proposal. Thirteen, out of the thousands of families whose children attend Arcadia schools.

I am personally for the plan, 100%, and I said as much at the meeting. My remarks were not reported in the article, perhaps my plain statement wasn’t as newsworthy as some of the other comments.

The middle-school philosophy, which allows students to attend a core of classes with one teacher, is vastly superior to the old system of five different classes. I was dreading the possibility that my son would have to go through the same loneliness and disorientation that I suffered through in seventh grade.

Admittedly there is much work to be done to initiate the change. The school administrators both at the school sites and in the district offices are the ones who will do it. These are the same people who are currently running a school system that was praised at the meeting as being excellent.

I feel that the parents of Arcadia should have faith that these administrators, who have shown in the past what a good job they can do, will be able to handle the task of reconfiguring the schools with the same degree of excellence.

BETSY WOODFORD , Arcadia