PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MAY 16, 2023
Contact: Dr. Andrea Pastchal-Smith
Aberdeen School District announces changes to its elementary and middle school grade
classifications.
Aberdeen Elementary School will now serve students in grades K-4. Belle-Shivers Middle
School to serve students in grades 5-8.
(ABERDEEN, Miss.) May 16, 2023 - Aberdeen School District announces changes to its
elementary and middle school grade classifications. Beginning in the 2023 - 2024 school year,
Aberdeen Elementary School will now serve students grades kindergarten through fourth grade.
The move comes as a way to further develop fourth graders before moving on to the middle
school level.
"These changes will benefit students both academically and socially," says Dr. Andrea Pastchal-Smith, Superintendent of Aberdeen School District. "Third and fourth grade teachers will be able to collaborate often on important grade-level skills, while students will be afforded the opportunity to interact among similar aged students to further develop socially before accelerating to the middle school level."
This move will also be beneficial to assessing and analyzing test scores. In accordance with the
Mississippi Public School Accountability Standards, test scores for both third and fourth graders will be attributed to Aberdeen Elementary School.
With this change, Belle-Shivers Middle School will now serve students in grades 5 - 8. For
questions or more information, visit Aberdeen School District’s website: http://asdms.us./