Woodland elementary schools moving to neighborhood model

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Woodland Public Schools (WPS) will transition its elementary-level buildings to a neighborhood school model for the 2019-2020 school year.

The district announced Sept. 10 that the current Woodland Primary School and Woodland Intermediate School would both serve students from kindergarten to fourth grade in the next school year. Currently, the schools serve kindergarten to first grade and second to fourth grade, respectively.

The shift to schools serving the same grade levels but different geographic locations will put the buildings in line with how the district’s other elementary school, Yale School, is configured.

Chief among the reasons for the shift is capacity in the face of population growth. 

A release from the district notes that all schools except for Woodland High School, which opened in 2015, have student enrollments exceeding the initial capacity designed for the respective buildings. 

The release also mentions developments with the city of Woodland itself that could bring in 1,200 new homes in the coming years.

The current grade configuration started in the 2015-2016 school year. Previously, WPS had a kindergarten through third grade building and one for fourth through sixth grade. 

WPS Superintendent Michael Green explained that in the few years with the current configuration the district has come to realize the impacts such a setup has on students, especially the younger grades.

Switching schools every few years had negative academic impacts in elementary-aged students, Green said.



Transportation was another issue. Although the district had a “complex but functional” bus system, in some cases students were spending two hours or more on a bus.

Green explained that currently the district’s two elementary-level schools had an imbalance of populations, in part due to one having two grade levels and the other having three. Having both with the same grade levels would allow for more equal distribution. 

The initial decision to go to a neighborhood school configuration came May 29 with a vote by the district board of directors. 

Green said this week he would be meeting with administrators for “planning of the plan.” 

In December, district staff will present to the board an outline of the transition. Around the same time the public will have the opportunity to voice their questions and concerns.  

Given the data that shows school continuity has a positive effect on student performance, as well as the anticipated population growth, Green felt going to a neighborhood model was best for the district.

“Ultimately my first priority is the well-being and education of kids,” Green said. “I firmly believe this will be in … both the short term and long term interest of kids.”