Smiths Station High School set to include 9th grade in the 2024-25 school year

LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) — The Lee County Board of Education has voted to place freshmen back into the Smith Station High School after five years of research.

Smiths Station High School opened over a decade ago, housing 10th through 12th grade students.  In March, the board of education voted to relocate the freshmen students back into the high school.  This decision will take effect during the 2024- 2025 school year.

Currently, freshmen attend the Smiths Station Junior High and Freshman Center, which served as a high school in the past. This location is home to about four hundred students.

Dr. Mike Howard, the Superintendent of Education for Lee County Schools told WRBL, that the school is currently experiencing a decrease in enrollment, despite their capacity to hold more students.

“The school was built for about 2000 students and right now we have about 1100.” Howard stated, “We’re adding  the freshmen to that, we’re looking at around 1650 to 1700 students.”

The school will continue to be classified as 7A by the ASHAA and through introducing the 9th graders into the school, Howard said there will be numerous benefits.

Howard told WRBL, “So we’re able to offer more electives than we have in the past, where overall, for more dual enrollment opportunities, we’re able to offer more athletic opportunities for our students and clubs and those type things.”

The merging of schools also creates new opportunities for other students as Howard detailed the next steps for Smiths Station Junior High and Freshman Center.

Howard says, “So a year from now, (2025-2026) we’re going to actually be moving all the sixth-grade students from the four elementary schools to that campus and have a sixth-grade building. And then they’ll be combined with the seventh and eighth grade and have a true middle school.”

The merge allows for students in Smiths Station to have schools with curriculum effectively provided for each school and grade level.

Lee County Schools intends to use this same model in other areas of the district to ensure that resources are being aligned to increase student achievement and provide more opportunities.

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