The middle school years have long puzzled educators.

Do sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders need classrooms warm and cozy? Or are they beyond that, in need of independence and more grown-up quarters?

The Washington Unified School District in Yolo County has taken a close look at its middle school students and decided they need both.

In a dramatic move, the district in West Sacramento has shut down its massive middle school, where achievement was so low the school faced government sanctions, and is turning nearly all its elementary schools into K-8 campuses.

To Steven Lawrence, Washington Unified's superintendent, the K-8 conversion has been a centerpiece of a broader agenda: breaking a stubborn pattern of low achievement and high dropout rates.

"It's not a single event. It's part of an overall process of improvement," Lawrence said.

The changes have meaning beyond school boundaries.

Incorporated in 1987, West Sacramento bore a gritty industrial reputation for years. But in the past decade, the city landed Raley Field against the odds, drew Swedish retailer Ikea, and watched with satisfaction as subdivisions grew.

Community leaders became frustrated that their schools weren't delivering.

"Before Raley Field came along, it was fashionable in West Sacramento to be in a state of desperation," Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said. "It made people start saying, 'If we can build a ballpark in 14 months, why can't we build playgrounds for our kids? And why can't we get all our kids reading on grade level?' "

Barry Kalar, the district's board president, agreed: "We needed to change the culture of mediocrity."

The communal conversation led to changes, including the difficult decision a year ago to dismantle the lone middle school, Golden State. The campus, in the northern part of the city, had as many as 1,200 students at times. Student achievement was persistently low.

"We realized middle school was where our students were falling through the cracks," Assistant Superintendent Sue Brothers said.

The district had been looking at building a second middle school to handle growth in the south area. Leaders worried about creating an attractive new campus in one part of town, while the other was left with an aging, poorly performing school.

After public meetings filled with debate, the school board voted unanimously in March 2007 to create K-8 schools throughout the district. The idea was to place middle-school students in smaller, more intimate settings where teachers could keep better track of their needs and progress, board member Sandra Vargas said.

"We wanted to create an environment where the students could step up and grow, and still feel safe," she said.

The district added seventh-graders to several elementary schools last year, and eighth-graders this year. The conversion took more than $16 million and brought numerous changes to schools.

Modern new science labs – two portables per campus – were purchased, along with an assortment of equipment to make way for electives such as digital photography and digital piano. To create more physical education and sports elective opportunities, new fitness classrooms resembling modern health clubs were installed.

"I was initially skeptical," said Becki Santistevan, a former Golden State teacher now teaching science to middle schoolers at Southport Elementary. "But it is working very well."

She ticked off the benefits: New modern facilities. Fewer behavior problems among students. And a smaller environment where teachers and students can connect more easily.

Not all teachers like the changes, she said. But Santistevan has found the conversion energizing. "It's a fresh start," she said. "It's making me want to do more in the classroom."

For children in grades kindergarten through five, life has remained largely the same; students still are in "self-contained" classrooms with a single teacher. Students in grades six, seven and eight move from classroom to classroom for their subjects.

At first, some people worried about the mix of small children with older adolescents. So the schools arranged classrooms and schedules to keep younger and older children on different parts of campus. Most have separate lunches.

"You have to recognize and honor that these sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are becoming young adults," Stonegate Elementary's principal, Marty Ofenham, said.

At Southport Elementary, eighth-grader Holly Zalutka said she wasn't happy when she learned she wouldn't be attending a separate middle school.

"Socially, it would have been better to be at Golden State," she said. On the other hand, she said, students her age are able to tutor younger students, which she finds fun. And she looks forward to spending time on the exercise equipment in Southport's new fitness classroom.

Rebecca Wall, whose two children attend Southport, said if the district had kept Golden State, she likely would have transferred her children to another middle school.

According to Rozlynn Worrall, administrator for the middle and high school improvement office at the California Department of Education, many districts are struggling with how best to serve middle school students.

"It is such a hard time for kids at that age," she said. Some districts have explored the K-8 model, she said, most are opting to keep middle schools intact.

"The configuration is not nearly as important as what goes on inside the school," Worrall said.

Call The Bee's Deb Kollars, (916) 321-1090.