BY SUSIE CURRIE — As reported in the December issue of the HL&T, Hyattsville Middle School will indeed add sixth graders this fall. On February 21, the Prince George’s County School Board approved the change as part of the larger Boundary, Grade and Program Improvements plan.
The policy affects all rising sixth graders at Hyattsville Elementary School, as well as about 25 from Riverdale Elementary who would now attend HMS as seventh graders. (The majority of 6th graders at Riverdale feed into William Wirt Middle School.) University Park Elementary School, which also feeds into HMS, is unaffected.
Principal Kimberly Washington says plans are underway for the integration, which will mean “utilizing some spaces differently.” Adding younger students will not affect the school’s well-regarded Center for Performing Arts Program, or change the number of spaces for children outside the boundaries.
