The East Penn School Board of Directors met May 9 to discuss the proposed closure of the middle school of Seven Generations Charter School.

Seven Generations Principal Paul Hunter and Curriculum and Instruction Director Jen Hersh presented their proposal to the board. In attendance were school teachers and other members of the research committee who worked on the proposal.

Hunter said this process began as a result of concern felt toward the middle school families. The committee looked at PRSSA results from 2011 to 2015 and saw a pattern with standardized test performance. Students in kindergarten through fifth grades, were doing well. There was a significant drop in performance from sixth to eighth grades.

The committee also looked into student departure rate from 2011 to 2015 and saw there was an approximate 75 percent loss of students from sixth to seventh grades.

The data led the Seven Generations committee to believe the source of the problem stems from the curriculum. A survey showed 90 percent of parents of elementary school children felt the curriculum matched their child’s needs. In the middle school, the same survey showed significantly less enthusiasm over the curriculum.

With this in mind, Hunter and Hersh asked the board to amend their current middle school contract. Seven Generations would like to close the middle school, suspending its use until a better curriculum can be created for the students. Hunter wants to find a curriculum that suits the psychology of middle schoolers.

Concerns from the East Penn School Board arose.

Board member Charles H. Ballard was concerned about the current students, asking what preparations the school has for the current fifth graders who would have to change schools this fall. Hunter said the committee has thought about the transition period and has been in contact with local schools, planning to set up tours for students who will have to relocate.

Board member Ziad Munson commented middle schoolers do not have the luxury to pause, asking Hunter and Hersh why they should even consider stopping schooling in the first place. Could the issue be resolved with school still in session? Hunter replied he does not want to “put a Band-Aid over it.”

The Seven Generations team wants to work out a plan for the long run and give the children who enter the middle school a great education that works from the start. Hersh added the curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade took two years to create. When it came time to start the middle school, Seven Generations decided to use the same format for the middle school. They have since learned this was not the right move for the students.

Ken Bacher, vice president of the East Penn School Board, recommended the Seven Generations committee look at other charter schools where the elementary and middle schools mixed successfully. Hunter said, pending approval of the board, he and some members from the committee were planning to visit other schools where this model works.

Bacher also wanted to know the restart model for when the middle school curriculum was in order. Hunter said the plan is to graduate up one grade at a time once reopened. Munson asked if there was any concern about re-opening, to which Hunter replied he wanted to worry first about getting a solid foundation from which to move forward.

Three mothers with children at Seven Generations spoke on the proposal as well. Two were in agreement with the principal and curriculum director; they would like to see the school pause and find a study program that works. The last mother to speak was opposed, saying she did not want to change schooling halfway through for her children.

The fate of the Seven Generations proposal will be voted on during the next school board meeting scheduled May 23.