There may be major changes on the horizon at the two Middle Schools in North Platte.

North Platte Public Schools administrators are proposing that all sixth graders in the district attend Madison Middle School, while all seventh and eighth graders will attend Adams Middle School.

According to Superintendent Marty Bassett, the goal of the proposal is to improve academics at the middle school level.

Bassett says that students come to middle school from the district’s 10 elementary schools.  The consolidation of sixth-graders would allow district officials to ensure that students are getting the support they need, and will also ensure that the curriculum is aligned for all students.  He says the focus would be on the transition from sixth grade to seventh grade both socially and academically.

Administrators believe that keeping all sixth-graders together would be highly beneficial on a social level, and would allow for smaller class sizes and more student focused education.

Also, Bassett says this would allow seventh and eighth graders to be better prepared to enter high school.

School officials would like the public’s input on the proposed changes.

There will be two public meetings to allow comment.  The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at Madison Middle School starting at 6:30 p.m.  The second meeting will take place on Thursday April 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Adams Middle School.

The Post has discussed this issue with many parents in North Platte, and nearly all of them have expressed concern about transporting their student to school.  Administrators recognize that this will be an issue for many students and this is one of the issues that will surely be discussed at the public meetings.

Bassett says that, aside from transportation, no additional costs or staff reductions are expected with the proposed change.

The changes will, if enacted, will take place in the fall of 2014 at the earliest.