The Laurel School District is moving to a small school model at the Laurel Elementary School starting this school year. An intermediate school for grades 5-6 will be located within the elementary school with a principal and office for each school.
According to Superintendent Dr. Shawn Larrimore, the elementary school has had 1,100 students in it since it was built (1,162 last year). The school district added more assistant principals as the school gained population. Larrimore said the school administration asked for this new model.
Shown are Laurel Elementary School principal Dr. Amanda Gaglione, left, and Laurel Intermediate School principal Gina Voges. The two schools will be located in the Laurel Elementary building starting this school year as part of the small school model that the Laurel School District uses at the Laurel Middle High School. Photo by Mike McClure
The small school model is not new to the Laurel School District, it did the same with the Laurel Middle High School. The two schools within the building switched to this model with the middle school moving from grades 5-8 to 7-8. Grades five and six moved to the elementary school.
“The small schools model works,” said Larrimore. “We saw it work at Laurel Middle High School.”
Discipline reports dropped 30-40 percent after the change at LMHS. The building now had 1,154 students last school year (391 middle school and 763 high school).
This new move is taking place due to issues with school culture at Laurel Elementary School, which had grades 1-6. The goal of adding an intermediate school is to provide individual attention and have better behavior. There will be the same number of administrators in the building (as with just the elementary school).
Each school will have its own administrators, offices, and teachers. In the past, the district had an intermediate school at the former middle school. New signage for the intermediate school has been ordered.
The district is also looking to move the first grade from Laurel Elementary School to the North Laurel Early Learning Academy for the 2025-26 school year. It filed a certificate of necessity with the state to go to referendum for funding (80 percent from the state) to renovate NLELA and move at least two grades there, but it wasn’t approved. The district will file for a CN again this year with plans to also expand the North Laurel gym if the certificate is approved and the referendum is successful.
Meet the principals- The Laurel Intermediate School will be led by Gina Voges and Dr. Amanda Gaglione will serve as the Laurel Elementary School principal.
“I absolutely love it. Part of what drew me is the family feel and the community and school working together. Everyone has been extremely welcoming,” said Gaglione, who joins the Laurel School District after working in Milford since 2011 (and Lake Forest before that).
Voges is in her 22nd year with the Laurel School District. She worked in the classroom for 18 years and AP for three years and enters her first year as a principal.
“You know what your teachers have on their plates and I already know a lot of the parents and I know what expectations the community has,” Voges said.
Gaglione is in her sixth year as an administrator and is able to share her experience with Voges while Voges will help her get to know the community.
“Traditions are important and Gina’s been helping me,” Gaglione said.
“I think we have the same vision for our building,” added Voges.
Voges started working in the district at the former Laurel Intermediate School (grades 5-8) while Gaglione worked with Early Choices at the Dunbar Elementary School 25 years ago.
Two schools- The two principals believe the small school model allows them a more personal setting in which they can get to know students better and provide guidance and support for teachers.
“It builds a better community within the building,” Voges said.
Gaglione, who has worked at both the middle school and elementary school levels, said graduation rates increase with the smaller school model. She added that students will be challenged on their level.
“We want every family and every student to feel this is a safe and welcoming environment,” said Gaglione.
Voges said the intermediate school will work on building skills that the students need to graduate. The students will be in charge of their own learning, collecting their own data and sharing it with their parents through data binders.
The Laurel Intermediate School and North Laurel Elementary School principals are working with the principals at North Laurel and Laurel Middle School to ensure that students are prepared for their next level of education.
Open house- The Laurel Intermediate School’s open house will take place on Aug. 22 from 5-6:30 p.m. and the Laurel Elementary School open house will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. The open houses will provide families with resources and will help them get to know the principals.
“We’re excited for the school year,” said Gaglione.
“They’re (school staff) dedicated. They care about our kids,” Voges added.
