As Superintendent David Moore continues his efforts to implement innovative ways to improve public education, the School Board has embraced his proposal to provide parents with another intriguing option:
K-8 schools.
Earlier this month, Moore presented the board with a proposal to begin the transition to a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade concept at four of the district’s elementary-level schools as early as the 2025-26 academic year.
Board members initially approved adding sixth-grade classes next year – with seventh- and eighth-grade classes to follow in a year-by-year progression – at Pelican Island Elementary, which is slated to become not only a K-8 school, but the first in the district to offer a non-religious, classical-education curriculum.
Then at Monday night’s board meeting, they unanimously approved the addition of sixth-grade classes at Fellsmere Elementary and both the Rosewood and Osceola magnet schools, also starting in August.
The district’s other nine elementary schools will continue their existing K-5 formats, giving parents a choice between sending their children to traditional middle schools or to K-8 schools.
The K-8 schools will provide opportunities to participate in music programs, such as band, orchestra and chorus. Although those schools will not offer athletic programs, students in grades 6 through 8 will be allowed to play on teams at the neighborhood middle school for which they are zoned.
The focus of the two magnet schools will not change, Moore said, referring to Osceola’s emphasis on math and science, and Rosewood’s “Core Knowledge” curriculum that incorporates science, history, music and art.
Moore, who last month was named Florida’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year and is among four finalists for the national award, said the opportunity to offer parents an alternative to middle school was “very, very exciting.”
He cited statistics that he said show the district loses a significant number of students after they complete the fifth grade – in part, at least, because some parents are concerned their children aren’t ready for, or won’t be comfortable in, the middle-school environment – to private and charter schools.
“When kids go from elementary school to middle school, they’re leaving a smaller school and familiar surroundings, where they’re sitting in the same classroom with kids they know,” Moore said. “And they’re going to a different school in a larger high-school-like environment, where they’re changing classrooms every 55 minutes, seeing different teachers and different kids.
“That can be a significant transition for an 11-year-old,” he added. “Some parents want a smaller, more nurturing environment where their kids are not being exposed to the social anxiety of transitioning to middle school.”
School Board Chair Teri Barenborg, a longtime educator, said the transition from fifth grade to middle school has “always been a problem” for some students, adding that physical size and maturity levels vary for children of that age.
“It can be tough for a sixth-grader, and we’ve seen grades go down after moving to middle school,” she said. “Parents have told us they wished our elementary schools went to eighth grade.”
Moore outlined his proposal at the board’s Jan. 13 workshop session, where he said he challenged his elementary school principals to evaluate their facilities to determine if they had the capacity to accommodate the K-8 format.
He said each of the four planned K-8 schools have enough space to add sixth-grade classes in August, when the new academic year begins, and handle seventh- and eighth-grade classes the following years.
Several of the district’s elementary school principals embraced the K-8 concept, he added.
Saying the “data is pretty clear” on the need for K-8 public schools here, Moore told the board, “We shouldn’t create a plan to address it in two years, if we can address it going into the next school year.”
Under Moore’s plan: Fellsmere, Rosewood and Osceola will join Pelican Island in adding one grade each year for the next three years, giving the district four fully functioning K-8 schools to start the 2027-28 academic calendar.
Moore said he was eager to see how the K-8 format is received by the community, adding that he’s also curious about the impact the change will have on the district’s middle schools, where enrollments should be noticeably smaller.
“Maybe we’ll see better relationships there, too,” the superintendent said.
As for the K-8 eighth-graders who will not be exposed to the multiple classroom changes of the middle-school environment, Moore said the district will develop a “transition plan” to prepare them for their entry into high school.
“We’ll see how popular it is,” Moore said of the K-8 format. “If there’s a demand for more schools, we’ll add them. But we’ve got strong middle schools, too. Both options are good.
“Some kids fare better in a smaller environment. Others need to be moving every 55 minutes.”
Moore said principals at the planned K-8 schools will need to continue to meet with parents to gauge interest and “sell what they’re offering,” as will those heading the district’s four middle schools – Gifford, Oslo, Storm Grove and Sebastian River.
He said he expects many students and their parents to still prefer the traditional middle school experience. The choice, he suspected, might even prompt debate between students who prefer one option and their parents who like the other.
“I’d imagine there could be some heated conversations between parents and their children,” Moore said.
For Moore, however, the choice was obvious: Providing the K-8 option was necessary to continue the upward momentum the district has built in its five-year rise to an “A” rating by the Florida Department of Education and a graduation rate that ranks No. 4 in the state.
“We’re competing in a school-choice environment,” Moore said. “We’re seeing (private) schools pop up all over. We’re not the only game in town, anymore, but we are the best game.
“It’s not OK to not be an ‘A’ school. Every school can be – and should be – an ‘A’ school. So, if you want to compete with us for educating our community, I’m going to say, ‘Bring it on!’”
