District to Start New Program at Intermediate School : Thousand Oaks: Officials say 139 sixth-grade students have signed up to attend Colina in the fall with seventh- and eighth-graders.

Thousand Oaks school officials said Monday that they have received enough applications to fill a pilot program in the fall that will allow sixth-grade students to attend school with seventh- and eighth-grade students.

The pilot program will allow some students normally assigned to the 18 elementary schools in the Conejo Valley Unified School District to attend Colina Intermediate School.

Three other intermediate schools in the district will remain limited to seventh- and eighth-graders.

District officials said the program at Colina is intended to provide a better transition--academically and socially--for students moving from elementary school to intermediate and high schools.

Fred Van Leuven, director of secondary education, said the program follows state guidelines for sixth-grade students and gives teachers a chance to work in teams, using themes to unite different subject areas.

“Just adding a sixth grade to a school doesn’t make it a middle school,” Leuven said. “It’s a philosophy that emphasizes transition.”

The school board approved the program at Colina in March. The program was presented to students and parents at two open houses last month.

But officials were not certain until Monday that the program would start, after they determined that the district had received more than the minimum number of applications needed to fill classes.

The district has received 139 applications from students throughout the district to enroll in the program, which can accommodate up to 144 sixth-graders. At least 108 students were needed.

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The district will continue to accept applications until all 144 spaces are filled, Assistant Supt. Richard Simpson said. After that, students will be placed on a waiting list, he said.

In addition to the applications for Colina, Thousand Oaks administrators have received nearly 300 transfer requests for fall, under a new state mandate allowing parents to choose their children’s schools.

Under the mandate, students living nearest schools are given first priority, while other spaces will be assigned by lottery or the order in which applications are received.

Simpson said Monday that it appeared that about 95% of the district’s transfer requests would be approved. Only a few schools had more transfer requests than spaces. Among those were Banyan and Walnut elementary schools, and Thousand Oaks High School, where 42 new students wanted to enroll and only 15 wanted to leave.

A higher number of requests had been expected for Thousand Oaks High because some students now assigned to Westlake High actually live closer to Thousand Oaks High.

“I think what happens is kids get associated with friends . . . and they want to stay together,” Simpson said.

District officials planned to start sending out letters today to parents whose transfer requests were approved. Administrators will also decide today if lotteries will be held for spaces at schools with too many applicants.

The shifting of sixth-graders to Colina Intermediate School is expected to relieve some of the crowding at Conejo and Westlake Hills elementary schools. If the program is successful after two years, Colina would become a permanent middle school.

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Susan Malone, a parent who worked on a committee that reviewed the middle school proposal, said she enrolled her daughter in the program because she believes that it will better prepare students for honors classes.

Malone said she was also attracted to the program because the four sixth-grade teachers--Carol Philips, Sheila Brayer, Jackie Hadley and Scott Johnson--will coordinate lesson plans, using some of the same themes throughout math, science, English and social studies.

“They’re coming together and sharing ideas,” Malone said. “Somehow when you put that much positive energy together, good things happen.”