The construction projects are wrapping up, the redistribution of students in grades six through nine is complete and new district lines are drawn for the elementary schools ? now students and parents have to get used to everything that awaits them on Sept. 6.
One of the largest changes this year concerns the new roles of Clarkston’s two middle schools, which between them housed all children from sixth to ninth grade.
Sashabaw Middle School will retain its name and all the sixth and seventh grade students in the district. Clarkston Junior High, formerly Clarkston Middle School, is now home to all eighth graders and will take on the ninth grade students from Clarkston High School.
For some students like Alex Decker, 14, this school year will be their fourth spent in the hallways of CJHS. Decker is excited by the prospects.
‘I have been in the CJHS since sixth grade, so I am glad we are staying. ? I love (the grade shift). A lot of the kids who have gone on to the high school were not ready for it so I think that when I do go on I will be more ready for it,? said Decker.
Decker said that picture day will hold significance because she will meet some of the students from what was called Sashabaw Junior High/ Sashabaw Middle School.
The prospect of seeing some classmates from days gone by has Decker especially excited.
‘I went to Pine Knob Elementary from first to fourth grade and moved to Springfield Plains, so I am excited to meet up with some of the kids I went to school with at Pine Knob,? said Decker.
Decker hopes the change will also usher in school dances and a more mature atmosphere.
‘The principals (in middle school) didn’t really like dances, so we don’t know if we are going to have any dances, but all the kids would really like to have a homecoming. I think it would be really fun to have one,? said Decker.
‘The thing I don’t like is that (not moving) makes people think that we are staying at the junior high because we are smaller. They think they were lucky because they got to go to the high school so they are making fun of us because we do not,? said Decker.
Trisha Tarvestad was a sixth grader at CMS last year and will go to SMS this year.
Trisha’s mother, Kim, hopes her daughter’s transition is eased by her participation in sports. Trisha is a Clarkston Chiefs cheerleader, where she had an opportunity to interact with children who went to CMS and SMS last year. Trisha plans on joining the seventh grade basketball team.
‘She was concerned about it at first, but she seems to be okay with it now,? said Tarvestad.
Tarvestad took her daughter to the SMS office over the summer to help along the familiarization process once the school year begins.
Some parents are faced with several sets of circumstances surrounding changes at school this year.
Carol Vandermeer has three children going in two directions this fall.
Her oldest, Matt Vandermeer, 12, attended CMS last year, but will move to the seventh grade at SMS this year.
‘He has moved from the bottom of the food chain to the top of the food chain,? said Vandermeer. ‘It is going to be a very big change for him.?
She added that all the seventh graders in Clarkston will be in the new wing at SMS. Her son will undoubtedly still be able to pal around with his old friends.
Vandermeer said Matt has wrestled since he was four and played for the Chief’s since he was eight, so he knows a few other kids that he did not go to school with last year.
‘He will also have the new wing, and he is very excited about that,? said Vandermeer.
Vandermeer felt her son’s involvement in non-school based sports will help with the transition process this year.
Vandermeer’s younger sons, Nick, 10, and Nate, 7, are being affected by the redistricting of the Clarkston elementary schools.
Over the span of several meetings last winter the school board discussed and finally voted to accept redistricting so as to ensure all Clarkston Elementary Schools could make use of their dedicated art, music and science rooms. Last year, overcrowding at some of the elementary schools forced the dedicated specialty rooms to be used as extra classrooms. The redistricting issue was hotly contested by parents who felt the school district’s actions were premature and did not factor in future growth.
Vandermeer, whose younger sons will both move from Springfield Plains Elementary to Andersonville Elementary, was not opposed to the change.
‘I didn’t go to any meetings on the reconfiguration because the kids were so excited about the move,? said Vandermeer.
Vandermeer said she could have kept Nick at Springfield Plains by arranging transportation for him, but chose to have both children in the same school. She said having her older son in the same school with his younger brother is comforting to her.
For some, like Decker, the most important thing is being comfortable with their surroundings She often wonders what could have been.
‘All the teachers at CJHS are really nice and are almost like family. They treat us so well, but it would be nice to be able to go to another school and discover new things instead of being in the same place for so long,? said Decker.