6th, 7th, and 8th graders are people,too - why no middle school north of the Clark Fork River?

The other day the subject of closed schools came up in a conversation. More specifically, the conversation touched on the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students that live north of the Clark Fork River.

There has been a move in the last three decades to remove our Missoula students from the proximity of their homes - i. e. their neighborhood schools.

The 2004 school closures were particularly difficult to deal with. Hundreds of children were sent out of their neighborhoods.

When Rattlesnake Middle School closed, along with Mount Jumbo and Prescott Schools in 2004, not only did the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students from the Rattlesnake Valley lose their school. ALL of the students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade from the East Missoula area and the Lowell School area lost their middle school, also. 

SINCE 2004 THE ENTIRE NORTH SIDE OF MISSOULA HAS BEEN WITHOUT A SCHOOL FOR OUR 6TH, 7TH, AND 8TH GRADERS!

How fair is that?  It is not.

Never before in the history of Missoula have the children in this age group been treated so unfairly as far as the school district providing a school for them.

The north side children grew up with Lowell and Whittier Schools as their neighborhood schools.  These included 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

The Rattlesnake Valley children grew up with Prescott, Lincoln, and Rattlesnake Schools as their neighborhood schools. These included 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

The East Missoula children grew up with Central and Mount Jumbo Schools. These included 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

All of these children are now bused to Washington Middle School and C. S. Porter; the Rattlesnake and East Missoula children to Washington Middle School and Lowell area children to C.S. Porter.

During the discussions of where the children would be sent after the closures, the one thing that parents and students asked of the administration is that these students be kept together.  The closures were difficult to handle for many children, therefore, to be kept together would help somewhat in mitigating the trauma caused by this unfortunate experience.  The administration and the closure Trustees during the entire 48 day process were cold hearted and continued to be when discussing the future location of the students as the district ended up splitting the children, sending them to two different middle schools, thus many friendships were torn apart.

IT IS TIME TO BRING BACK OUR 6TH, 7TH, AND 8TH GRADERS BACK ACROSS THE RIVER TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS - THEY ARE PEOPLE TOO, AND IT IS TIME TO START TREATING THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES MORE FAIRLY.

There are other issues with fairness and school closures and openings brought about by the 2004 school closures, such as the conversion of Rattlesnake Middle School to an elementary school. missoula schools watchdog hopes to discuss these at a later date as time permits.  Hint:  Why not bring back K-8 schools - a neighborhood school for everyone!? Missoula had K-8 schools prior to 1981.