The Poplar Bluff R-1 Board of Education voted to allow Lake Road Elementary School to extend class offerings to fourth graders during Thursday's meeting. The decision is an attempt to increase enrollment at the facility, which according to Principal Erica Weadon, has been dropping consistently since 2013.
Although there is no state regulation stating that Lake Road must close if it cannot increase enrollment numbers, Superintendent Scott Dill said, from a local standpoint, the potential is there. Once the hidden costs of maintaining a school, such as utility bills and staffing, become a burden on the district, other options start to be considered.
"That's one of the reasons we're taking this step, to try and stay that off," Dill said. "But, at some point, one has to consider the allocation of resources versus the number of students in that facility."
Dill said the Lake Road building is comparable in size with the rest of Poplar Bluff's elementary schools. Despite being significantly underpopulated, with a current enrollment of 171 compared to more than 300 at O'Neal, Oak Grove and Eugene Field, Lake Road has the same in terms of allocation of resources, principal, counselors, custodians, cafeteria personnel, and all other aspects required to ensure the school operates fluidly.
"We also have to account for electricity, water, and those other hidden costs in education," Dill said. "We have to ensure we're being good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
Dill said if Lake Road were to shut down, its students would have to be accommodated elsewhere, which would likely mean a new building would be constructed on the north side of town.
Weadon said during the 2012-13 academic year, 396 students were enrolled at some point. In 2013-14, 362 students "came through the doors." In 2014-15, the number dropped to 358 and the following year inched back to 363. But when the Middle School opened during the 2016-17 academic year and all fourth grade students transferred away from Lake Road, the numbers fell to 251 and now consistently hover around 170.
"I feel like I'm not doing my part," Weadon said. "We want to make an impact on the community and if we don't have kids, we can't do that."
Weadon said her goal is to slowly build Lake Road's enrollment by extending grade offerings. She said beginning in August, she will reestablish fourth grade within her building and then ask the school board to approve adding a fifth grade the following year, and a sixth grade after that.
The fourth grade curriculum at Lake Road will be the same as at the Middle School.
"Really what we're doing is we're offering a commensurate education experience to what those fourth graders would receive. So all we're doing is expanding our current offerings to Lake Road," Dill said.
Weadon said students who attend Lake Road in third grade will not be required to remain at the facility, but will simply be afforded the option. Her target is to fill 46 fourth grade seats, or two classrooms. Twenty-three is Poplar Bluff's average fourth grade class size.
Weadon said the seats, which are not filled by current Lake Road students will be opened to those who live outside of Lake Road's boundaries, with the understanding that parents provide transportation to and from school.
At Thursday's school board meeting, it was discussed that some Middle School personnel were upset with the idea of losing approximately 50 prospective students, and claim that it will be "going back" on the district's 2014 promise to move toward centers in lieu of neighborhood schools, as well as, limit collaboration efforts among teachers.
Middle School principal Dr. Brad Owings said the Lake Road decision's immediate effects will cause the school to lose two fourth grade teaching positions, which means the faculty will need to be shuffled to accommodate students in other areas of the building.
"We were expecting close to 400 students to enter fourth grade next year and now we will expect somewhere around 350 students to come in from the other three feeder schools," Owings said.
The Middle School currently has 423 fourth graders and approximately 1,200 students. However, loss of nearly 50 students shouldn't hurt the school, according to a prior statement from Owings in a story published by the Daily American Republic during the summer, in which he said after one year, the building was pushing capacity due to high enrollment numbers.
Because Weadon says the addition of more grade levels will allow more time for her faculty to work one-on-one with Lake Road kids as an advantage, a few current fourth grade teachers feel their efforts are being undervalued.
"The first thing you need to know is that our teachers at the middle school care about kids," Owings said. "All of our teachers, but especially our fourth grade teachers, work really hard to make a large building feel welcoming and inviting to all of our incoming students."
Weadon said interpersonal interventions are used often at Lake Road to help students close the gap and ensure they are learning at the correct grade level. She said she sees a lot of progress occur between first and third grade, and is excited to see what happens when the students are able to stay at Lake Road longer.
"After third grade, even if we're halfway done, we've got to send them over," Weadon said. "We've always said if we could have them a little longer, imagine what we can do."
Weadon added that her vision for Lake Road is in no way an attack on the Middle School, and that it is simply an effort to drive enrollment and provide continuity for kids.
Dill said the exact benefits the students will gain are unclear at this point. However, through data tracking, the district will determine its effect.
"We do know that demographically, the free and reduced lunch rate at Lake Road is very high," Dill said. "Lake Road, under Mrs. Weadon's leadership, has a proven track record of very high levels of achievement for students from a challenged demographic historically."
Prior to approaching the board, Weadon surveyed Lake Road's current fourth grade parents. The question she presented was, "If it was an option, would you prefer for your student(s) to stay at Lake Road Elementary through sixth grade?"
Of the 60 responses, 52 said yes, six said no, and two were undecided.