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  • The relocation of the EDGE Academy is currently being discussed as part of the plan to help handle alleviate overcrowding. Rebeka Rutledge/The Duncan Banner

    The relocation of the EDGE Academy is currently being discussed as part of the plan to help handle alleviate overcrowding.
August 30, 2012

DPS contends with district growth

Options include moving EDGE to high school

Derrick Miller The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — Overcrowding in the elementary schools would result in relocation of the EDGE Academy program and re-purposing its building.

During Tuesday’s special meeting, the school board and administrators discussed the district’s strategic plan and ways to improve the district. Glenda Cobb said several of the elementary schools, including Emerson, Horace Mann and Plato, are using 100 percent of their classroom space.

Some of those school (Emerson was noted) have large class sizes, some containing as many as 32 students.

Mark Twain is using about 75 percent of its classroom space, and Woodrow Wilson is using about 83 percent of its classroom space.

If every elementary classroom across the district only had 24 students, there still wouldn’t be enough classrooms to house all the students, Assistant Superintendent Glenda Cobb said.

On Friday, 2,026 students had enrolled in elementary at Duncan Public Schools. Tuesday, that number went up to 2,062 students.

Of those, 317 fourth graders make up the largest elementary class.

One item discussed in helping to alleviate the congestion of elementary students is to move the EDGE Academy program to the West building on the Duncan High School campus, and using its building to house elementary students.

“The buildings could manage the capacity,” Cobb said. “Everyone would be under 100 percent. Emerson would still be crowded.”

The EDGE Academy building is used for 52 students in the program.

With the upcoming renovation to the Duncan High School, more classrooms would be added to the main building at the high school and several classes would vacate the West building as a result.

The school board members agreed moving the EDGE Academy program to the high school campus is a good idea.

“There would be so many more resources at the high school,” Assistant Superintendent Rodney Calhoun said.

A couple of years ago, Calhoun was the program director for the EDGE Academy, taking over when Tom Berninger retired.

Calhoun said moving the EDGE program to the high school campus would keep all high school students in one location and would provide EDGE students with more opportunities, including better access to electives.

Although everyone agreed bringing the EDGE program to the high school campus would be most beneficial for the students, the question became, what should the EDGE Academy building be used for.

Cobb presented the idea of making the building a fifth-grade center.

She said this would help free up classrooms at all the schools and would allow for more expansion and growth within the school district.

“The back gym could be made into a cafeteria,” Cobb said. “You could add onto it. It already has 12 full-size classrooms and a small classroom.

“The facility has potential. It could serve us long term.”

School board member Lisa Thomas suggested making the building into another elementary school.

Superintendent Sherry Labyer said this would allow for redistricting, which could help alleviate the crowding at Horace Mann and Emerson.

The school board didn’t take action on the item, but suggested talking with Duncan residents to find what they thought would be the best use for the EDGE Academy building.

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