Middle School Changes

The 2023-2024 school year brought significant changes for middle school students with the opening of Oakdale Middle School, our third comprehensive middle school.

There were two major changes:

Middle schools now serve 6th-8th grades. This means all current 6th, 7th, and 8th graders attend middle school.

There were zoning changes implemented. As a result, your student may be zoned for a different middle and high school than where they were prior to the attendance boundary adjustments.

Click Here to Find your Students School with our District School Locator

 

We are excited your student will be attending middle school next year and receiving all the fun, enriching, and educational opportunities that come with it.

We understand some students may want to stay at their current middle school or attend the middle school their sibling currently attends. We have a limited number of grandfathering opportunities available.

Students may be eligible to stay in their previously zoned school based on the priorities outlined below, as well as the enrollment capacity of that school, until that school reaches 90% capacity. (Capacity means physical building capacity in addition to staffing ratios and team structure - two teams per grade level. We strive to have our comprehensive middle schools be fairly equal in size in order to provide a common experience amongst our middle school students districtwide.)

Priority 1 Students who are in 7th grade in the 2022-2023 school year.

Priority 2 Current 5th and 6th grade siblings of the students in Priority 1

Priority 3 Students who are in the 6th Grade Academy during the 2022-23 school year.

Priority 4 Current 5th grade siblings of students in Priority 3

Attendance Zoning Process

This change comes as MSD opens a third middle school in the fall. This will allow us to offer exciting opportunities for students and free up several classrooms at each of our elementary schools. 

We began a process of analyzing possible new school boundaries in 2019 with a committee of staff, MSD family members and community members. The Attendance Zoning Committee (AZ Committee) was very close to making a recommendation to our MSD Board of Directors when the process was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AZ Committee reconvened in January 2022 and developed analysis for public feedback. Public feedback was taken in April and May of 2022. Feedback went back to the committee, which then made a recommendation to the Board on May 5, 2022. There was another public hearing on May 19, 2022. The Medford School District Board of Directors adopted this attendance scenario on June 2, 2022.

The committee determined its priorities when analyzing potential attendance zones and they are as follows:

• Capacity: reasonably equal for each middle school.

• Continuity of feeder patterns: Cohorts stay largely intact (as much as possible). 

• Equitable student populations and opportunities at each school.  

• Community voice throughout the process. 

Click here to view the AZ Committee charter, which includes detailed information about the process.

Click here for more information on Oakdale Middle School.