OSD Board of Trustees approves realignment of elementary grades

Published 9:28 am Tuesday, January 25, 2022

The Oxford School District Board of Trustees approved changes to campus alignments on Monday in order to provide a more effective transition for young students.

The move comes at a time when the district is working on several capital improvements in an effort to address growing enrollment rates.

“Space is a continual concern when you live in a growing community like Oxford. In order for OSD to accommodate enrollment projections, we must plan for a 2.75-3.25% growth rate for the next ten years,” superintendent Bradley Roberson said. “By shifting our grade spans, we are doing two things: utilizing space we already have for growing classrooms and easing academic transitions for our youngest learners.”

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The revised plan sends pre-kindergarten students to the old Oxford Elementary School at 1637 Highway 30 E, while kindergarten and first grade students will now go to Bramlett Elementary. Second and third graders will attend Della Davidson elementary, fourth and fifth graders will go to Central Elementary, while Oxford Intermediate School will serve only sixth graders.

“It is highly beneficial for Kindergarten and 1st grades to be together as those are the foundational years for reading,” said chief academic officer Marni Herrington. “As students progress to 2nd and 3rd grades, their preparation for reading assessments can only grow stronger by having those teachers in the same building.”

The board said that the district’s fiscal responsibility over the past five years provided a surplus that will be used for immediate capital improvements.

In 2017, Oxford taxpayers approved a $38 million bond referendum for an elementary school, performing arts center and improvements to current facilities. The new Central Elementary opened in 2019, but projects to exceed capacity as soon as next year under the current alignment.

The district also announced administrative changes to accommodate the new campus alignments.

Current Bramlett Elementary principal Keri Jo Sapp will head the soon-to-be-named pre-K program, former Oxford Middle School principal Jeff Clay will take over Bramlett Elementary, Oxford High School assistant principal Dr. Nikki Logan will become principal at Central Elementary, fellow OHS assistant principal Johnnie Dudley will take over at Oxford Intermediate School while current Oxford Intermediate principal Barbara Price-Cage will move to Oxford Middle. Patches Calhoun will stay on at Della Davidson Elementary.

All changes will go into effect for the 2022-2023 school year.