SMITHS STATION, Ala. (WTVM) – As the back-to-school countdown begins across the Chattahoochee Valley, elementary students in part of east Alabama are preparing for changes that go far beyond a new teacher or classroom.
Beginning this school year, Lee County Schools is transitioning four elementary campuses in the Smiths Station area to a grade-level organizational model. Instead of attending a local school based on neighborhood boundaries, students will now be assigned to specific campuses based entirely on their grade level.
Under the new realignment plan:
- South Smiths Station Elementary will serve exclusively preschool students.
- West Smiths Station Elementary will house kindergarten and first-grade students.
- East Smiths Station Elementary will accommodate second and third graders.
- Wacoochee Elementary will hold fourth and fifth graders.
The Lee County School Board voted unanimously to adopt the grade-level model last November after administrators identified disparities in resource allocation across the four campuses…