Published: June 27, 2008 12:50 pm            

New middle school possible

ASHEBORO — The opening of a second high school in the Archdale-Trinity area is likely to mean a second middle school as well.

The new Wheatmore High School is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. That could mean that Braxton Craven School, currently with sixth-graders only, will become a middle school with grades six through eight.

Marty Trotter, director of facilities and construction for Randolph County Schools, told the county Board of Education last week that when district attendance lines are approved Braxton Craven could be the feeder school to Trinity High with Archdale-Trinity Middle School students moving on to Wheatmore.

The attendance lines are still under study, however a rough draft had projections of the number of students going to each school. Under the draft, Braxton Craven would have a student population of 549, Archdale-Trinity would have 698, Trinity High 664 and Wheatmore 844.

Those figures are based on a preliminary drawing of district lines and current average daily attendance in the current district. The draft is subject to changes during a process that includes public hearings and board discussions.

Trotter said the school board will have to approve the plan, but noted that converting Braxton Craven into a middle school would be “the cleanest way to do it,” having one middle school feeding each high school.

Capacity at Braxton Craven is 548 students while Archdale-Trinity Middle School is 800, Trinity High is 780 and Wheatmore will max out at 1,000. If the feeder plan is approved, Trotter said, Braxton Craven would require mobile units and the use of some athletic facilities at Trinity High.

        

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