Mid-Prairie students and faculty may be relieved as summer has just begun, but this summer will be a busy one for the district transition of the elementary schools.

Superintendent Mark Schneider says work has already begun this week, with custodians picking up free furniture from the Muscatine School District for the fifth grade rooms, and today they will be moving books around from the libraries. Next Monday all the grade materials will be moved to the new fifth grade wing. Then Schneider says every two weeks they will be moving a grade, beginning with moving the preschool, third, and fourth grade materials to the new Mid-Prairie West Elementary in Wellman. Schneider says they planned this staggered system so they can have time to vacate the spaces, clean them, and then move furniture into those classrooms. Schneider describes it as as a domino effect throughout the summer. Schneider says the move should be complete by mid-July, and after August 1, teachers will be given a paid day to sort through their belongings in their new classrooms.

The district is renaming Wellman Elementary and Kalona Elementary to Mid-Prairie West and East Elementary, respectively. West Elementary will house preschool, kindergarten, third and fourth grades, and East Elementary will house preschool through second grades. Fifth grade is moving to the middle school, and the Washington Township building will house the Home School Assistance Program.