Many current and graduated students clearly remember their transition from elementary to middle school — making new friends, learning a new language, and changing classes each period were new and unforgettable experiences. Without doubt, the graduation of sixth grade marked the beginning of students’ teenage years.

Recently, rumors about a possible reconfiguration of the school district, wherein sixth graders would be moved up to Berner Middle School, have swirled around the Massapequa community. As a result, members of the community have either showed their support for the plan, or rejected it altogether.

While it is still unclear now what will happen, there are possible plans in the works. According to Superintendent Lucille Iconis, On February 9, 2016, she plans to deliver her “executive summary” to the Board of Education, who in turn may decide to either pass or deny the reconfiguration of Berner Middle School.

Though reconfiguration remains a contentious issue, the reconfiguration process itself will not be jarring or haphazard. For starters, this reconfiguration will not be implemented until at least 2017. Additionally. board members, parents, teachers, and administrators have visited a number of middle schools with the final visitation on January 14 to see an example of a sixth through eighth grade middle school set up as part of an “investigation” into the possible reconfiguration.  

Many parents see only the downsides to this possibly polarizing action. “[This is an] emotionally charged issue. The fact is that…for [other districts on Long Island] it’s the most common structure,” Mrs. Iconis said.  

However, Mrs. Iconis believes that this change will very much benefit the district all around. Massapequa is one of only four districts in Nassau County to not have sixth through eighth in one building.

This is not the first time that the Board of Education has considered moving the sixth graders into the middle school. When reconfiguration was last attempted in the 1990s, enrollment at Berner was extremely high— meaning that the process could not be done because of space issues. Today, the numbers have decreased, thus, making it more feasible.

This combination of grades has many benefits, such as the opportunity to hire more teachers and further departmentalize Berner. Mrs. Iconis strongly feels that “…we have a phenomenal school system and it could only be better with this kind of movement.”

Furthermore, sixth graders are developmentally closer in age to eighth graders than they are to third graders, whom they currently interact with each day in elementary school. A ten year old child can relate more to a thirteen year old than to an eight year old, and this  movement would help “tweens” grow and develop appropriately for their age.

Moving sixth grade to Berner opens up opportunities for these students tremendously by offering them guidance counselors and also giving them the advantage to start a language earlier in their academic careers. Since there are 240 minutes per day in an elementary school and 320 minutes in a day for Berner students, it is likely that six grade students would be able to expand their knowledge bases.

Some parents in the district are supportive of the reconfiguration.

“A child needs to be nurtured and heard in order to be successful,” Massapequa parent Laurie Trojanowski said. “If this change goes through, which I hope it does, it needs to happen with much thought and planning.”

Although eighth graders are closer to the sixth graders in age, many parents believe that the they may have a bad influence on them.

“I don’t think that the sixth graders are mature enough yet to handle the middle school,” Massapequa parent Karen Ranallo said.

No matter what the district decides, education will remain as a focus.

“I believe that education is power and if you give people the information, then they can weigh the pluses and minuses,” Mrs. Iconis said.

Ultimately, this decision will determine the future of Massapequa School District for the better or the worse.