Hi everyone, my name is Ally Barry. I am a parent to three children in the HBR school district. I have Emersen, who is in 4th grade. Emmett, who is in 1st grade and Emery who is in Early Childhood. Not only do my children attend the elementary school but I am also a substitute teacher in the school, so needless to say we spend a lot of time in the building.
As most of you know, or I hope most of you know there have been discussions about our current 4th graders moving into middle school when they become 5th graders. This news, I guess, did not come as a complete surprise to me. I knew there had been talk of this shift happening for awhile, but I guess I never really thought it would happen. And not only does it seem to be a strong potential, but it directly affects my child.
When I heard this transition was not only a thought but an actual possibility, I had so many conflicting emotions. So many thoughts, that even to this day I am still trying to process. These emotions, I have come to realize, are grief. I am grieving what I thought my child’s 5th grade year would look like. I am grieving the comforts and people that I thought would help shape my 5th grader. These are the people, the support, and the teachers that have been in our lives for many years and all of a sudden it feels like they are moving miles away.
But with all of those mixed emotions and with what feels like scary unknowns, I know it is the best decision. Since working in the elementary building I can easily see how overcrowded it has become. It has gotten to a point where there is not even one room that is going unused. This causes stress on not only the children but the teachers and staff. If a child or even a teacher needs to step out to regroup or regulate themselves there is not a single room that can be used. Instead, they are trying to regroup in a corner or hallway that is overrun with students and staff. And as a parent you know that it is nearly impossible to regroup yourself as people stare or even ask, “what’s wrong?” And if we don’t need a room to regroup there is not even a quiet room for a student to work on their homework or a project. However, with this transition we will have rooms available.
So not only will this transition help relieve the overcrowding to open up rooms, but it will also award opportunities to our 5th graders. They will have opportunities for intramural sports and band that is already scheduled into the day, instead of the teachers having to carve out space while they miss important school work. The children in accelerated classes won’t be bussed to the middle school. There are just so many opportunities our children will have that just can not be given while at the elementary school. Our school resources won’t be stretched out so thin. Instead of our one reading specialist trying to see children from kindergarten through 5th grade all within a day, she would be opened up to spend more quality time with the kindergarten through 4th graders.
Finally, I guess the most important thing to me is this will make the transition from 5th to 6th grade so much easier. Everyone has said that transitioning from the elementary school to the middle school is very difficult. It is overwhelming and even scary. But these 5th graders will now have a head start. They will know the school, the schedule, and they will start seeing familiar faces through the halls. These 5th graders will be well prepared for the official transition.
Even though I am a little nervous and anxious, I am excited. I am excited for the space to grow and for opportunities. And when I forget how good this transition will be I will remind myself of the quote by Neil Strauss, “Great things never came from comfort zones.” This is the time for me and my soon to be 5th grader to step out of our comfort zones and grow.
