At the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, Spectrum added a 5th grade to its campus, which created significant changes for the school’s environment. Through the first month of school, a lot can be said about the effects.

The fifth graders moved into the old sixth grade building to start their Spectrum education. Mr. Heinecke, the principal of Spectrum’s middle and elementary schools shared that the structure of the building hasn’t changed, but the grade that those structures are for has changed.

“The elementary building and that unique layout; having that office staff and that support, just has continued now in the fifth grade rather than sixth grade,” said Heinecke.

The staff members at the elementary school are working to help the students grow in their new environment.

“We’ve hired really good teachers to be able to help them finish their elementary experience, if you will, and prepare them at the same time in the unique way for what we want here at the middle school,” said Mr. Heinecke.

As the year continues, the staff work hard to provide an effective learning environment for the fifth graders.

While the addition of the fifth grade affects the campus, it also affects the fifth graders themselves. Fifth grader, Colton Wilson shared that he believes Spectrum classes are a lot harder than his old school’s, but he still really likes it. The teachers have been working hard to help him and the other fifth graders to understand the material they are working on.

Mackenzie Peterson, a 5th grader, said, “They have been supporting me really good, and I think all the teachers are really nice.”

Peterson is glad to go to Spectrum because she gets to attend the same school as her older sisters.