our schools have a very unique configuration. we have a
total of 4 schools for our 2.2 sq mi town. our youngest
is in the prek-1st grade school. the next up is 2nd-4th
grades. after that the kids start middle school in the
newest building. that building is truly amazing too, btw.
5th-7th grades are taught there. then they move into high
school at 8th grade. now that may seem odd, but the majority
of our 8th graders are taking one or more courses for high
school credit.
the two lower buildings bother me the most, but that may
just be because of my personal history here. when i was
in school here, i attended school in the prek-1 building.
i went there from kdg until 6th grade. so part of me would
like to see both elementary buildings set up as prek-4th
buildings.
back to d.c. though...i’m truly skeptical about putting k-8th
grade d.c. public school students in the same building.
personally, i do not think that would be a good learning
environment for those children.
The K-8 configuration might work in D.C. if the schools are strong neighborhood schools, with lots of parental interaction and tough discipline standards. If the children feel they belong to a community at the school, the extra support may help.
I'm leery, though.