Mineola Superintendent Outlines School Grade Transitions

At Thursday evening's meeting of the Mineola Board of Education at the , Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler outlined the various transition plans for the District depending on whether the residents will vote on in February passes.

Residents will be voting on a  to construct an additional eight classrooms onto the . If the bond passes, the school would house the District's third, fourth and fifth grade students while the and configurations will remain in their current state.

If the bond fails, the Jackson Avenue School would serve the District's third and fourth grade students while the middle school would be home to fifth, sixth and seventh grade students and the high school would serve grades eight to 12. 

In either case, both the Willis Avenue School and would close. Pre-kindergarten to second grade students who live South of Jericho Turnpike would attend the and the would do the same for students who live North of Jericho Turnpike. 

If the Feb. 8 bond passes:

• The Cross Street School would close by Sept. 2011 and Willis would remain as it is currently while construction takes place on the Jackson Avenue School.
• Willis would close by Sept. 2012 provided work is completed on the Jackson Avenue School.
• Meadow and Hampton become the schools for grades 1 through 3 and will house their current fourth grade students who will be starting fifth grade by Sept. 2011.
• Students entering grades 1 through 3 who would normally attend the Cross Street School will instead go to Meadow beginning Sept. 2011. Students entering grades four and five who normally go to the Cross Street School would go to Jackson in Sept. 2011.

If the bond fails:

• The Cross Street School would close by Sept. 2011.
• For Sept. 2011, fifth grade students will go to the middle school and eighth grade students would go to the high school.
• Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten as well as central administration would remain at Willis until Sept. 2012 when Willis would close. 
• Current third grade students who currently attend either Hampton, Meadow or Cross would change schools twice over the next 2 years. Third graders currently attending Hampton would go to Jackson for fourth grade and the middle school for fifth grade.

In addition, those currently attending first grade at Cross Street would go Meadow for second grade and Jackson for third grade.  These students would experience four changes of schools (Willis, Cross, Meadow and  Jackson) in four years.