MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Schools officials announced where they will send students after Kirby High School was taken over by rats.
During a community meeting Monday evening, school leaders announed they have decided to split up Kirby’s 800 students by grade.
They’re sending 9th and 10th grade students to W.E.B. DuBois Middle School, and 11th and 12th grade students are going to Kirby Middle School.
“I just hate that my children are gonna be split up. But like I said, the situation is so unfortunate. We couldn’t help what happened,” parent Tranice Gates said.
Although there’s no helping it, some parents like Bridget Shotwell find themselves questioning how they’ll get their kids to school before the bell rings.
“I was really hopeful that they found one location,” she said. “They have to be at school at 7:15 a.m., so I got to try to figure out how I’m gonna get both of my daughters in two different locations at 7:15. Then, I have to try to get to work my self.”
Then there’s the question of accomadating 400 extra students at each campus, possibly pushing existing middle school students into different rooms.
“There will probably be some slight changes, We’re trying to make those changes minimal,” Natalia Powers, with Shelby County Schools, said.
It’s all in an effort to make sure high school and middle school students don’t intersect.
“They’ll have to use different entrances. They’ll have different site times. They’ll have different lunch breaks, all of those things,” Powers said.
Students will start school at their new locations on September 17.
Until then, there will be a half-day on Wednesday at Hickory Ridge Middle School. Students will get laptops to do coursework from home until the 17th.
The arrangement is expected to last at least until winter break.
During this time, crews will be at Kirby High School trying to get a grip on the pest problem.