Northeastern to change grade levels to accommodate construction

Northeastern Local School District will be switching students to other school buildings for the 2020-21 year to accommodate for construction work and begin aligning the district with the new schools, according to a district official.

“As we work toward completing our facilities project as quickly as possible, we will need to make some adjustments that allow construction to happen with minimal interruption and distraction for our students,” said Superintendent John Kronour. “We know that change is always hard, and we are working to make this transition as smooth as possible for our students and families.”

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The following changes will take place in the fall:

  • South Vienna Middle School seventh and eighth graders will attend the Northeastern 7-12 building, and their classrooms will move to the current math wing
  • Preschool classrooms currently at Northeastern High School will move to South Vienna and Rolling Hills Elementary Schools
  • A special education unit at South Vienna Middle School will move to Northridge Middle School
  • A cross-categorical transition unit at Northeastern High School will move to Kenton Ridge High School

“This adjustment would allow elementary classrooms at South Vienna to move to accommodate upcoming construction on the South Vienna School site,” Kronour said.

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Grade levels at Rolling Hills, Northridge and Kenton Ridge will not be changed, Kronour said.

In addition to accommodating for the construction, the seventh and eighth grade transition to the high school will begin the process of aligning the district for the new facilities.

“One of our priorities in this process has been making sure that we preserve the middle school experience for 7th and 8th grade, as well as the high school experience for 9-12th grades,” said Northeastern High School Principal Todd Justice, who was formerly the principal of South Vienna Middle School. “We’ve worked hard to create a plan that takes into consideration a variety of factors, including lunches, restroom and hallway use, PE locker rooms, and more to make sure that all of our Jets have a positive experience at school.”

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