NASD summer break extended

Published 12:06 am Friday, May 18, 2012

NATCHEZ — Some students’ summer just got a little longer.

In order to accommodate the moving and shaking of grade levels and campuses within the Natchez-Adams School District, the 2012-2013 school year will begin Aug. 20 rather than Aug. 1 at all public schools.

The schools will also lose a fall break holiday next school year and remain in school until May 31, 2013, to accommodate the extended summer vacation.

Email newsletter signup

At a specially called meeting of the Natchez-Adams School Board Thursday, Assistant Superintendent Morris Stanton said the start date was pushed back to allow for more time to settle supplies and equipment into their respective new campuses.

“(District employees will use) a couple of extra weeks to get everything in place to have a smooth transition,” Stanton said.

Also, the names of some of the schools have changed, but the Natchez-Adams School Board voted to keep the changes simple.

The school board voted to change the names of West Primary School to West Elementary School; Frazier Primary School to Frazier Elementary School; and Morgantown Elementary School to Morgantown Middle School.

The board voted at their May 10 meeting to reorganize grade levels at most schools.

When the 2012-2013 school year arrives, West Elementary, Frazier Elementary and McLaurin Elementary will all serve students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Previously, West Primary served pre-K and kindergarten, Frazier Primary served first and second grade and McLaurin Elementary served third and fourth grade.

Morgantown will now serve sixth through eighth grade; it used to serve fifth and sixth grade. The former Robert Lewis Middle School will close during the 2012-2013 school year to be renovated as a magnet school.

The administration is currently working on and is close to making school assignments for elementary students based on residential their locations, Interim Superintendent Joyce Johnson said Thursday after the meeting.

She said the administration is still working on assignments for principals and teachers, and those decisions could possibly be completed next week.

Additionally, Board President Wayne Barnett said the board has not yet confirmed the name of the new superintendent, but a public announcement will soon be made on the matter.

Johnson said parents with elementary-aged children in the district will be notified of their children’s school assignment by letter, through the newspaper and through the district’s parent connection website.