It’s only July but the students in Queen Creek and Chandler school districts return to class beginning the week of 7/27/09. Both districts are on a modified, year-round calendar.
Queen Creek students return to class Wednesday 7/29/09. Chandler students return Monday 7/27/09.
Queen Creek
Because of Queen Creek growth the board agreed last spring to a plan that shifts grade levels at some schools. The four elementary schools will hold students in kindergarten through fourth grade, while Queen Creek Middle School will house fifth- and sixth-graders. Newell Barney Junior High — (which underwent a name change from last year’s Newell Barney Middle School) — will house seventh- and eighth-graders.
Twenty two new teachers were hired in the Queen Creek school district over the summer. That’s down from the 50 to 60 teachers hired in the past few years.
It is estimated by the Queen Creek district that as many as 300 new students may show up this year. But that is a guess until the school year actually begins. The problem has been in estimating students because of all the foreclosures in the area.
Another impact on enrollment is the opening of J.O. Combs Unified School District’s first high school. Until this year, Combs didn’t have a high school, so Combs students applied under open enrollment to attend Queen Creek High School. Combs High School is opening with freshmen and sophomores.
Open enrollment applications from the Combs district into Queen Creek High for the upcoming school year include 40 ninth-graders, 48 10th-graders, 106 11th-graders and 126 12th-graders.
Chandler
The Chandler district could see as much as an increase of 1,000 students according to officials. Students may not all arrive on Monday, but some may trickle in the next few weeks as families move into Chandler and learn about the district’s new schedule.
The Chandler district is opening two new schools: Chandler Traditional Junior High is opening at the current Pathways Learning Center, while Pathways, an alternative program, is moving into a new facility named Ken “Chief” Hill Learning Academy, near Frye and Cooper roads.
It is likely that other schools districts in Arizona will begin to look at this trend of modifying their schools years.
![[Facebook]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[LinkedIn]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[MySpace]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[Twitter]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[Windows Live]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[Yahoo!]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
![[Email]](http://benjamin.com/phoenix-arizona/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png "Queen Creek and Chandler Arizona Schools Begin Early")
You must log in to post a comment.