Washburn Rural North Middle School is officially open. After over three years of building and planning, WRN is almost ready for the 2025-2026 school year. The 43 million dollar building is made up of an abundance of natural light, connection to nature, and functional use of all spaces.
There are many mixed emotions about changing schools. Seventh grade student at WRMS Collin Danielson said, “I want to stay at WRMS, because there are more people I am friends with at WRMS.” Some students said that they are excited for the new environment and the modern building. “I am most excited for the new building,” seventh grader Abby Knappenberger said. It will also be a big change for the middle school with sixth graders being added in. Seventh grader Ashlynn Chooncharoen said, “It is going to be weird because there is going to be little kids and like, giants.” Chooncharoen is also excited about the new Raven jerseys for sports, “I am also excited for new uniforms that don’t have holes in them.”
Much like students, there is also a good amount of WRMS staff making the move to WRN. Not only are they changing schools, many teachers are changing subjects as well. Current seventh grade math teacher, Ms. Henley will be teaching physical education at WRN. Henley said, “ I have to leave two of my close friends. I will miss getting to see them everyday!” Along with everything, SFA is no longer going to be taught to eighth graders, but will be replaced with “Skills For Success,” which will be required for all three grades. Eighth grade SFA teacher Mrs. Hundley said that instead of teaching SFA, she will be teaching a reading literacy class at WRN. The inclusion of sixth graders in middle school brings diverse perspectives from WRMS teachers. Hundley said, “It is gonna be weird because I have never taught in a building that has sixth grade in it and I feel like there is a big difference between sixth and eighth graders.”
Having two middle schools for this district will impact the students and teachers in many good ways. “Washburn Rural Middle School has had nearly 1,000 seventh and eighth grade students enrolled in it in recent years. Moving forward, we will have two middle schools with sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students and each school will eventually have approximately 650 students enrolled in it. A middle school with 650 students in three grades will provide more opportunities for students compared to one middle school with nearly 1,000 seventh and eighth grade students.” Superintendent, Scott McWilliams said. Teachers and students are looking forward to new opportunities with these two schools!
