Those attending the Creston School will keep their students though the 8th grade. The State has granted accreditation to begin offering 7th and 8th grade classes this fall.
In the past, Creston’s 7th and 8th graders transferred to either Kalispell Middle School or Cayuse Prairie. This first year, they’ll cap their junior high program at 15-students.
The current thinking in Creston is that those middle school years are critical and that a change of schools can be very disrupting. Now that they have approval for a middle school, they’re working to develop a program similar to the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Since most Creston students wind up at Flathead High School–which has an active I-B program, the transition would be almost seamless.
Creston plans to add the Project Lead The Way curriculum, offering activity, project and problem-based learning. The plan is to begin moving students into career readiness and STEM topics at the middle school level.
