With so many changes to worry about, moving from elementary to middle school may be one transition adolescents want to avoid.

The Salt Lake City School District may be the first in the state to make remaining in elementary school an option.

It has asked elementaries that feed Hillside and Clayton middle schools to form committees and survey parents to determine whether some students may be better served by remaining in elementary school through eighth grade.

Because Hillside and Clayton are scheduled to be rebuilt for the 2007-08 academic year, money could be redirected to create smaller middle schools and retrofit the elementaries to accommodate additional grades.

Another option would be to make all 11 affected elementary schools K-8 and shut down the two middle schools, but district spokesman Jason Olsen views such a scenario as unlikely.

He does predict, however, that there will be enough parent support to make at least a few elementaries K-8.

Potential benefits are numerous, Olsen said.

"There is more of a feeling of belonging in the school because teachers know the students," he said. "Anytime you can take out one of those transitions, which always have a big impact on students, it does seem to help students."

Although the concept is new to public schools, elementary schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City long have served students in grades kindergarten through eight, and Jo Ann Emery, principal at St. Olaf's in Bountiful, says both age groups benefit from the interaction.

"We have a family atmosphere here," she said. "The older ones look out for the younger ones, and the younger ones really look up to the older ones."

Research completed by The Philadelphia Education Fund and other national organizations has shown eighth-graders in elementary school situations perform better on achievement tests than their counterparts in middle school.

However, that trend isn't enough for parents such as Heidi Monson. Three of her children attend Indian Hills Elementary, which expects results from a parent survey this week.

"It's better to have two small transitions before college," Monson said. "You go through life and experience transitions. Kids need transitions and learn how to experience them."

Curriculum for K-8 schools has not yet been decided, but Olsen sees potential for some classes, such as choir, to be offered in younger grades. Monson worries programming for her older students may suffer as a result.

Kimberly Van Dyke, another Indian Hills parent, wants to see the new program implemented. Her son had a negative experience at Clayton Middle School, and she believes he would have done better in an extended elementary situation.

"Having these schools would give everyone a choice. Parents could opt to send their children to middle schools or to have their children in a K-8 program," she said.

That choice is something Michael Clara wishes parents on Salt Lake City's west side also had.

"The district has presented all of this data about how this reform works, but then only offers it to the east side," said Clara, who doesn't necessarily support the initiative, but wanted the choice.

The district selected Hillside and Clayton because "we have the opportunity," Olsen said. Northwest Middle School, at 1730 W. 1700 North, was recently rebuilt, and the project began before the K-8 model was discussed, Olsen said.

While some parents wanted to have the choice, Monson wonders how much say the community will actually have.

"It's one thing for the district to give us the opportunity to say yes or no, but what they'll do is another thing," Monson said.

Olsen said the Salt Lake School Board will make the final decision at the end of the year.

For more information, visit http://www.slc.k12.ut.us/schools/k8.

smcfarland@sltrib.com

K-8 schools

The Salt Lake City School District is exploring whether some elementary schools should serve students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Elementary schools that may be affected by the plan:

Beacon Heights

Bonneville

Dilworth

Emerson

Hawthorne

Highland Park

Indian Hills

Lincoln

Nibley Park

Uintah

Whittier

Middle schools that may be affected by the plan:

Hillside

Clayton

Timeline

Phase 1

September to December 2005

School teams meet weekly or biweekly to gather information, read research, discuss findings and develop recommendations regarding implementation of a K-8 program in their schools.

December 2005

School teams report their findings and recommendations to the Salt Lake School Board.

Phase 2

If the school board approves one or more K-8 schools:

January to June 2006

Schools further develop initial plans to prepare for the construction and implementation phase.

June 2006 to July 2007

School buildings are modified and additional plans developed for implementation of the K-8 model.

August 2007

Schools begin the first year of implementation.

Source: Salt Lake City School District