HEWITT, TX — Leaders at Midway Independent School District have change on their minds.
They want to stay ahead of population trends while at the same time employ the newest and most effective teaching methods.
They're charting their course with the help of parents and other stakeholders. The reason for this is because the population at Midway High School is growing.
Midway schools have seen a lot of changes over the years, they are in McLennan County's highest growth area.
The district's efforts to keep pace with growth and high student achievement helped draw the Boyd family to Hewitt.
"The schools here are good but I feel like they're a lot bigger than we're been Bused to," said Becky Boyd, whose children attend schools in Midway ISD.
School leaders know bigger isn't always better, so they launched an almost top-to-bottom study of population trends in the district.
"We've been looking at our demographic data, meaning examining the growth of the district, what the projections are for the next five to 10 years," said George Kazanas, the Superintendent for Midway ISD.
This just shows where new schools will do the most good to a growing population. They also looked into all the latest so-called "innovative best practices" in the classroom, including grade groupings.
One of the innovations they're discussing at Midway ISD involves furniture.
A new stool, for example, is specially designed to be comfortable to sit on, but it also helps students focus their attention on the teacher.
Midway ISD leaders will even consider moving desks around to promote collaboration and team-building.
"To look at classroom design and then, of course, to look at the furniture and flexibility in the furniture and the research question is, does that furniture make a difference in student engagement," said Kazanas.
This is all so Midway ISD can keep up with an ever-shifting population, while it stays on the cutting edge of modern education.
The working group that met on Thursday will make it's final recommendations to the school board by May.
Becky Boyd hopes they address class sizes.
"I like a smaller classroom for my children to be able to have more one-on-one with their teacher," Boyd said.
She believes Midway ISD students deserve the best chance to learn, they can get.
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