Nokesville Elementary to Retain Rising Sixth Grade Students Next Year

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In preparation for Nokesville Elementary School's transition from an elementary school to a K-8 school, the vast majority of the rising sixth grade class will remain at Nokesville next year.

According to Principal Eric Worcester, the fifth grade class parents were instrumental in having their children stay for the additional year to foster some “consistency.” They did not want their students to attend Marsteller Middle School for just one year only to return to the same staff at Nokesville K-8 the following year.

“It’s tough. You go to middle school and they do things a different way,” Worcester said.

The 70-plus students who will remain at Nokesville will require three additional classrooms and three additional teachers. Nokesville has already begun the hiring process, hiring two upper-level elementary teachers who also hold middle school certifications.

Worcester said those teachers will likely stay on when the staff relocates to the new building, saying, “It slightly lessens the amount I have to do next year.”

Nokesville Elementary will use existing classrooms, so the school will not have to add new trailers, even though it is already over its capacity.

“We have some trailers outside. The sixth-graders will going into the trailers next to our fifth grade building,” Worcester said.

He said those trailers were previously used for encore classes,  specialty classes such as art or music, but those classes will now be incorporated into the main building.

As for busing the students, Worcester thinks it actually saves on transportation costs, since students will be attending school locally and will be picked up from the same bus stops as the elementary students.

Meanwhile, Nokesville Elementary students staying put could help Marsteller Middle School decrease its population, which is currently beyond capacity for the school.

According to Worcester, parents are “very happy” about the arrangement, and they understand that their students will be taking a middle school curriculum in more of an elementary school environment.

Many parents have commented at Prince William School Board meetings that they are aware of the research that says students learn better in more traditional school environments, stating it leads to greater achievement. In addition, they feel a K-8 school does not rush children into their teenage years too quickly.

However, while the smaller school building does place limitations on what Nokesville can offer the sixth grade students, Worcester hopes to provide “unique opportunities” for the sixth graders. After all, they experienced a commencement ceremony at the end of the school year, symbolically graduating them to the middle school level.

However, the administration at Nokesville Elementary has not at this time arranged any coeducational or co-curricular functions with other middle schools or Brentsville District High School.

For now, Worcester said that all extra-curricular activities would take place at Nokesville Elementary School.

What the sixth grade class can look forward to, according to Worcester, is being the “trail-blazing group” that will be the first to graduate from the Nokesville K-8 School.

There, Worcester said, they plan to have “a mix between some middle school and some elementary school (elements)” in a more traditional environment.

In addition, Worcester said he is happy to keep the rising fifth grade class for one more year, followed by two more years at the new school.

“They’re a great group of students, so I’m excited about having them back.”

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