Marysville campus not ready for students

Published 9:26 pm Sunday, August 19, 2007

MARYSVILLE – More than 110 freshmen in the Marysville School District will get to spend extra time in middle school this fall.

Or at least on a middle school campus.

The school district has decided to temporarily place 114 incoming ninth-graders from Marysville Arts &Technology High School at Totem Middle School when classes begin next month.

The reason is a new Arts &Technology campus won’t be ready until Nov. 17 and there is not enough room at the existing school.

Arts &Technology is one of three small option schools that will open on the new grounds known as the Marysville Secondary Campus this year.

The $24.7 million campus is just south of Quil Ceda Elementary School, 2415 74th St. NE.

Tulalip Heritage Option School and 10th Street School also will be moved by January.

Arts &Technology will have record enrollment with 361 students.

As a result, space will be tight in the leased office building where classes are now held, said Gail Miller, assistant superintendent for the school district.

Totem has several open classrooms available and can handle the overflow, Miller said.

For many years, Totem was known as Marysville Junior High School and served eighth-and ninth-graders. It was converted to a middle school for sixth-through eighth-graders over the summer. That change gave Marysville four middle schools serving the same grades.

Arts &Technology leaders will look for ways to bring the entire student body together during the two months it takes to open the new campus, said Principal Frank Redmon.

“We are going to open on the current campus on (Sept. 4) with everyone coming at least for part of the day to establish that we are all part of Arts &Technology and we are the same community of learners,” Redmon said.

A new building is not the only change in store. The school is also working on converting from a six-period semester to a five-period trimester, Redmon said.

That will give teachers longer stretches of time to work with students, he said.

Redmon said he can hardly wait to move into the new building, which will accommodate 400 students.

“It’s going to be a great school when we are able to move in,” he said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.