The Department of Education on Tuesday formally announced its plan for school configuration in the St. Croix District for the 2019-2020 school year.
Most notably, four of the district’s schools will move to a K-8 model and will require changes to school uniforms. Additionally, all schools in the district will have new start and end times to better accommodate bus schedules, as well as after-school programs and activities for students, the department said.
St. Croix Insular Superintendent of Schools Carlos McGregor said the move to a K-8 model was a necessary step in the right direction to alleviate long-standing employee shortages and decreased student enrollment, eliminate use of aging and damaged school buildings, and reduce operational costs.
D.O.E. Commissioner Racquel Berry-Benjamin echoed McGregor’s sentiments, stating, “After an extensive assessment of schools in both districts, we had to make the tough decision to change our operations for the benefit of our students, and in order to appropriately use the financial and human resources we do have.” Now, Mrs. Berry-Benjamin says, the Department of Education “is on the right path to better self-management as we begin the next phase of building new and modern school facilities.”
See full details below:
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