District Expanding Grade Levels at Three Schools 

Starting next year, several of the district’s specialty schools will expand to serve more students.  

The board acted Tuesday to approve a plan to add a ninth-grade class at the district’s virtual school, Guilford eLearning University Prep. The move comes in response to parent interest, with nearly 80 percent of current parents who responded to a survey indicating their interest in a virtual high school option. The district will eliminate kindergarten from the virtual school, citing consistently low enrollment. 

The board also approved adding a second-grade class at Doris Henderson Newcomers and Sylvia Mendez Newcomers. This will help students strengthen early literacy and language development in the critical year before academic demands shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Currently, the schools serve students in grades 3-11 who transition to a traditional school after about one year. 

These changes will take effect for the 2026-27 school year.