“When I was a freshman, I don’t think I’d have been able to go to high school,” sophomore Hannah Markley said. “I don’t think I’d have been ready.”
While some complain they do not want freshmen here because they are obnoxious and immature, most people are opposed because they would not have wanted to be here as freshmen. Moving the ninth graders up would make it so the same classes wouldn’t have to be taught at the high school and junior high, which would save money. However, not all students will be prepared to move up to high school. Besides the economic aspect, Markley says the only benefit to moving the freshmen up would be athletics.
On the other hand, West says it is an important part of their high school career. Almost every other school district has freshmen at the high school.
Moving the 9th graders up is a good solution because it would simply cause more crowded hallways, whereas the alternative, faculty cuts, would take educational opportunities away from students. There would be less classes to choose from. Ninth graders may be annoying, but most would agree not being able to choose from a variety of courses would be worse.
“I’d choose freshman being here, because it’s more important to me to have more options of what I can learn, than having less space to do it.” sophomore Jon Fitzgerald said.
The Facebook group with over 600 members makes it very clear that most students don’t want freshmen here. Ideally, things would just go on the way they have been for years, but the district is pinching pennies and although no solution is perfect, moving the ninth graders up seems to preserve educational opportunities in the high schools best.
