Raymond considers Middle School;
could be voted in Fall 1997 election

At the same time Windham is planning its budget and has announced plans to consolidate all its classrooms into one central location, the Town of Raymond to the north has a Middle School Development Committee, with plans to put the middle school to a vote in the fall of 1997.

A public meeting was held January 23 to get input from the public. Elizabeth VanHaasateren chaired the meeting, and reported that the Committee had been meeting since 1995 looking into what other schools in the area have done.

The current goal is to have a formulated plan available by late spring or early summer. This plan would be discussed at another public hearing and would include concept and cost estimates. The agenda for the January meeting was to have the public answer questions asked by the committee, which would give them ideas from which to work. Those present included citizens, parents, teachers, town officials and some young people who are presently attending middle and high school.

Some of the concerns raised by the public were that the mixture of ages in the Middle School be controlled by limited interaction, and a possible solution would be to have two wings with commonly used study areas between - for example a computer lab.

It was felt that by keeping the Middle School age group closer to home would allow for more extracurricular activities, parent participation, sports (both intramural and interscholastic) as well as closer control of social problems including drug use.

The aspect of cutting down on transportation time was a big concern. Some students who travel to another school have a routine 12 hour day from the time they leave home until they return.Because of this, the topic of 'latchkey" kids was discussed. The potential for a formalized recreation program organized by. a director was also considered.

The scholastic program was another topic raised; it was felt that local control would make"our children" better prepared for further education. Programs could be more easily tailored to what children need from year to year. It was estimated that there would be 60 to 75 students in each class by the time the school is ready. If the school was in the community, some felt that participation by community members on a voluntary basis could he utilized and that the students would benefit from this expertise.

It was mentioned that starting youngsters in foreign languages at this level would be a positive addition to their education. This could be added to the curriculum more easily than if the children are in another school system.

Potential renovations to the present Jordan-Small School, which would become the Middle School, included inter-school television programs, a photography lab, improvements to staff area, display areas, and possible outdoor changes.

The Middle School Development Committee urges residents to become more involved in the future plans and to attend public meetings on the issue.