Masterman's 9th Grade and 5th Grade Adjustments

The commencement of the 2024-2025 school year marks a fresh start for members of the Masterman community.  Changes to the fifth and ninth-grade class sizes mark a significant shift in the school’s structure. The announcement of the new changes left the community with many questions. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? What is Masterman going to look like in the upcoming years? Considering Masterman’s various changes in the admissions process, everything seems to be up in the air. Both students and teachers from the Masterman community voiced their opinions, offering a range of different perspectives.
For years there were four high school sections in each grade consisting of around 120 students. This remained consistent until the current school year. “We tried to have fewer kids in the high school, so classes could be smaller…We wanted this new admission process to be in a position to offer a spot to everybody who went to our middle school and be able to take outside people, which we were accused of being discriminatory for not doing,” stated Mrs. Elana. Compared to last year, the extra section added 33 students, bringing the class of 2028 to a total of 150. Meanwhile, the 5th grade decreased by one section, now leaving four sections of students in the Masterman class of 2031. The change in the number of students admitted into middle and high school left students, parents, and teachers with many opinions. Some teachers expressed their optimism for the school, stating that the increased number of high school spots allows for opportunities that didn’t exist before for other students in the Philadelphia School District. Mrs. Elana expressed, “Kids aren’t fighting to get into middle school, kids are fighting to get into college.” This perspective shows how a smaller middle school can be worth the tradeoff of a larger high school at a school like Masterman where students have increased chances to reach elite universities. Mr. Kamison conveyed that a smaller middle school would be less draining for the teachers, as younger kids typically require more attention. Additionally, the newcomers to the ninth grade provide opportunities for students in the high school to meet new faces and personalities, therefore, preparing students to have better social skills for the future. Many students have welcomed the expanded 9th grade, allowing them to create more friendships with other students.

Though many believe in the bright future of an enlarged high school, other teachers express their concern with the changes. Masterman has always consisted of five, 5th-grade sections, adding a new section in 6th grade. An anonymous staff member conveyed, that since most elementary schools end in 4th, those talented kids have a lost opportunity to build their fundamental skills. Some expressed that since the 5th grade was reduced, many kids with so much potential are forced to go to other middle schools that won’t challenge them to their fullest. “The kids are adjusting. They feel challenged, they feel like it’s a step up from their old schools… they need to be here in 5th so they have a push to be adjusted quicker and build a better foundation,” stated a teacher who would prefer to be anonymous. The middle school was stated as “the training ground to get accustomed to Masterman or any high school” by an anonymous staff member of the Masterman community. When coming to Masterman it is an adjustment and something that needs to be eased into. Therefore, there’s concern that these newly admitted students will feel a sense that they’re behind or left out compared to the previous kids, attending Masterman since 5th and 6th grade. 9th-grade students have communicated that this year feels different from the rest, not just because of entering high school, but because their grade feels unfamiliar to them as if their community isn’t as close-knit as before. “The community I feel has become somewhat more distant due to the fact that the school has so many more new kids in 9th grade,” Isaac Miller (9-3), a returning Masterman student, notes. 

There are pros and cons to every decision, leaving the Masterman community divided. This is a change our school must adjust to, and time will tell what the future has in store for Masterman School.