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Rumor Mill-5581

Published January 17, 2014

The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating.

If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.

Can you please explain what's needed for my child to "grandfather" into a school? We've been rezoned from Spring Station Middle to Heritage Middle, but I understand that my current 7th grade/rising 8th grade son can grandfather and stay at Spring Station next year. Do we have to fill out any forms to make that happen?

According to School Board Policy 1.703, students rezoned due to the opening of a new school or the rezoning of an existing school may request and be grandfathered to continue in former zoned school as follows:

  • Elementary School: rising 5th grade students
  • Middle School: rising 8th grade students
  • High School: rising 11th and 12th grade students

Request forms will be made availabe online once the School Board determines which schools will be open zoned for the 2014-15 school year. Parents whose children wish to be grandfathered at their existing schools will need to fill out the form and submit it by May 15. Parents are responsible for transportation to the out-of-zone school.

I heard a rumor that a new high school was being built near Grassland? Is that true?

A new northwestern area middle and high school complex is listed on the district's Five Year Capital Outlay Plan and would open in the fall of 2020. No land has been purchased at this time. The Five Year Capital Outlay Plan is updated on an annual basis and is subject to change.

Please clarify WCS’s policy for Middle School students taking High School Honors courses. As a parent of a middle school student and high school student, I thought the WCS benchmark tests were required grades for each student. Is this true?

Middle schools and high schools were given discretion on whether to count benchmark tests as quiz grades. The benchmark tests are formative and are primarily intended to identify gaps in learning and inform instructional planning.

Staff members at some schools feel that attaching a quiz grade to the tests helps encourage students to do their best, providing a better measure of what students truly know. Questions regarding your school’s practice should be directed to the principal.

How many more snow days do students have before they have to start making up days?

The district had nine inclement weather days built into the 2013-14 calendar. So far, the district has used two of those days, which leaves seven more. Any additional days missed would be rescheduled.