Union School board discusses moving to a distinct middle school for grades 6–8 with 90‑minute blocks

An administrator laid out a plan to realign Union School Corporation’s grade structure into elementary K–5, middle school 6–8 and high school 9–12 and to adopt paired 90‑minute instructional blocks for middle grades.

The presenter said the proposal is intended to address gaps in instruction for seventh and eighth graders and described a schedule in which students would receive two consecutive 90‑minute blocks—one focused on science and math and the other on English and social studies—so that “that’s three hours of really intense instruction in social studies, science, uh math, and um language arts.” The board was told the change would require adding staff to reduce class sizes; the administrator noted “Sarah Johnson is a fantastic teacher… her strength is in math and in science” and described Johnson working with two back‑to‑back 90‑minute blocks.

Board members discussed practical tradeoffs, including whether to move fifth grade later, classroom space and athletics alignment. One member recalled past practice in which fifth and sixth graders traded classes to ease the transition to junior high. Administrators said space exists but acknowledged moving staff could affect assignments and noted teachers are generally supportive of changes that let them focus on subject specialties.

The administrator cautioned that state accountability and grading logistics complicate implementation. “Let me be clear to the public… there have not been accountability measures since 2019 in Indiana where the legislators have held harmless schools since 2019,” the administrator said, adding the district has trained on a new ADF/A2F system and that assigning and grading more performance work could create a heavier workload for teachers.

A member asked for a second to proceed with the realignment discussion; the motion was seconded and the board moved on to additional agenda items, signaling willingness to continue planning and discussion but not recording a final formal adoption of the realignment at this meeting.

Next steps: board members said the item will be discussed further in coming meetings as the administration refines staffing, scheduling and accountability details.