Naper fourth-graders will switch schools next year
Fourth-graders at Naper Elementary in Naperville are going on a new adventure next year at Washington Junior High, which they will begin attending as fifth-graders.
The school board unanimously approved a plan to switch fifth-graders from attending the district's oldest elementary school at 39 S. Eagle St. to the nearby junior high at 201 N. Washington St. to alleviate space constraints at the Naper building.
Naper Principal Julie Beehler said teachers presented the opportunity to switch schools early as "a new learning adventure" when talking to fifth-graders, who are excited to be the first to make the move.
"They get to be part of something exciting," Beehler said.
Moving about 50 fifth-graders to Washington Junior High next year will allow the 12-room Naper school to reinstate a dedicated art classroom and move small-group instruction out of hallways into a library resource center that's set to be renovated soon.
"This will allow us to spread out a little more and have more focused learning groups," Beehler said.
School board member Jackie Romberg said the space needs have been growing at Naper during the past couple of years, and she's confident the district came up with the best plan to address them.
Parents at a recent meeting seemed "very comfortable" with the plan, she said.
"I felt that all their questions were answered," Romberg said.
"There was a plan; it was very, very thoughtfully done to make sure that the best learning opportunities for those fifth-graders were going to be presented," Romberg said.
One fourth-grader even approached her principal last week excited about the prospect of a school board vote approving the move.
"Did that group of people who are really important vote on this yet?" Beehler said one student asked.
Now she can report back to the kids that yes, this year's Naper fourth-graders are heading to Washington next year.
Even though they'll be attending a junior high for sixth- through eighth-graders, the fifth-grade students will use a separate entrance, have rooms and lockers clustered in one area, operate on an elementary schedule complete with their own lunch and recess times and participate in elementary-level after-school activities, district administrators said.
Next comes detail work of carrying out the transition, said Kitty Ryan, assistant superintendent for elementary education.
"We're confident that it's going to be a great plan," Ryan said.