John Rex Middle School

[Pete]

I always thought the playground should be on the roof.

Huge waste of prime real estate.

[shawnw]

Good idea as far as I'm concerned. Fill the block, have the middle school.... in the middle, and the high school in the part I drew above...

[okccowan]

I have kids at John Rex. The Middle School principal confirmed John Rex will be going through 8th grade for current students (the current 7th grade class started at as 2nd grade when the school opened). However, it sounds like getting a high school for John Rex may be difficult. I really hope they can get a high school because we live in Midtown and all other high schools are pretty far away.

[dankrutka]

I have kids at John Rex. The Middle School principal confirmed John Rex will be going through 8th grade for current students (the current 7th grade class started at as 2nd grade when the school opened). However, it sounds like getting a high school for John Rex may be difficult. I really hope they can get a high school because we live in Midtown and all other high schools are pretty far away.

Do you rule out the existing high school for your neighborhood? If so, why?

[Ross MacLochness]

??? What high school is in Midtown?

[loveOKC]

I have kids at John Rex. The Middle School principal confirmed John Rex will be going through 8th grade for current students (the current 7th grade class started at as 2nd grade when the school opened). However, it sounds like getting a high school for John Rex may be difficult. I really hope they can get a high school because we live in Midtown and all other high schools are pretty far away.

As it stands John Rex will feed into Douglass High School

[dankrutka]

??? What high school is in Midtown?

I didn't say the high school was in Midtown. I just asked about the high school for his neighborhood, which seems to be Douglass High School. So, the question is, why rule out Douglass High School which is not too far away?

[krisb]

The John Rex board is currently doing a feasibility study to lease/remodel the McAlpine Center at Reno and Walker for additional middle school classrooms and storage.

[DoctorTaco]

The John Rex board is currently doing a feasibility study to lease/remodel the McAlpine Center at Reno and Walker for additional middle school classrooms and storage.

I am unfamiliar with this building.

[jccouger]

You could also apply to have your kids enrolled at the recently merged Classen SAS @ Northeast high school which is very close to the Capital building and a short drive from Midtown. Should be a really great school.

[Ross MacLochness]

I didn't say the high school was in Midtown. I just asked about the high school for his neighborhood, which seems to be Douglass High School. So, the question is, why rule out Douglass High School which is not too far away?

Douglass is probably too far to walk or bike, and isn't downtown, which is the whole point of John Rex, is it not?

[dankrutka]

Douglass is probably too far to walk or bike, and isn't downtown, which is the whole point of John Rex, is it not?

Maybe so. I didn't see that that the posters said their primary concern was whether their children could walk/bike to school, but maybe I missed it.

[Jersey Boss]

Douglass is probably too far to walk or bike, and isn't downtown, which is the whole point of John Rex, is it not?

I would imagine there is school bus service for those too far to walk, bike, or scooter

[Ross MacLochness]

Yeah but the whole point of John rex is to be downtown. Perhaps that's why they'd want to continue their education downtown, especially since they live there. That's all I'm saying!

[Jersey Boss]

Yeah but the whole point of John rex is to be downtown. Perhaps that's why they'd want to continue their education downtown, especially since they live there. That's all I'm saying!

If the population numbers don't justify a grocery store it's doubtful the numbers would justify a neighborhood high school.

[dankrutka]

I also think there should be a school in downtown. A quality urban core should include everything residents need in their neighborhoods. I was thinking from the previous posts was that the point was for the family to not have to move out of downtown because of schools, which is why I was curious about thoughts on Douglass High School.

[Ross MacLochness]

Now that may be true. Doesn't mean someone can't want that.

[Ross MacLochness]

I also think there should be a school downtown. A quality urban core should include everything residents need in their neighborhoods. I was thinking from the previous posts was that the point was for the family to not have to move out of downtown because of schools, which is why I was curious about thoughts on Douglass High School.

Makes sense.

[TheTravellers]

I also think there should be a school downtown. A quality urban core should include everything residents need in their neighborhoods. I was thinking from the previous posts was that the point was for the family to not have to move out of downtown because of schools, which is why I was curious about thoughts on Douglass High School.

They live in Midtown, not downtown.

[HOT ROD]

If the population numbers don't justify a grocery store it's doubtful the numbers would justify a neighborhood high school.

Actually, the population numbers DO justify a grocery store. Downtown OKC just needs somebody to take the plunge, then watch all the other stores fall suit.

But grocery store does not equal the need for schools. There is not one grocery store in the Eastside but I'd bet you would not claim they also don't need any high schools because of it. ...

Having a quality high school in the inner core shows the city's commitment to education at the highest level of public education. I always thought it was ODD that OKC never utilized Central High School; even when there weren't the population why not have it for anyone in the city to attend regardless of district/zoning?

That ship has long sailed so we now have to reinvent the wheel and build a downtown high school or appropriate office space somewhere for one. ...

[okccowan]

Yes, I live in Midtown (SOSA) and have two kids going to John Rex. I work downtown. We often walk to school/work. I want a high school nearby (as in walkable/bikeable from Midtown/CBD). Douglass does not meet the definition of "near" or "close" unless you are speaking purely in terms of car driving.

[shawnw]

John Rex Middle School moving to renovated McAlpine building:

https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/ins...ool-expansion/

[Dustin]

John Rex Middle School moving to renovated McAlpine building:

https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/ins...ool-expansion/

I was wondering what was going here. Now I know. I drove by the other day and the inside looked gutted.

[Laramie]

The McAlpine Center will house sixth, seventh and eighth grades. But if the money gets raised, then the adjacent garage can be renovated to house fifth grade, freeing up space at the main building. It will also offer art and music classrooms for all grade levels.

The OU College of Education has authorized John Rex's existence as a charter school since 2013. With the newly approved charter, the school will add eighth grade in the 2020-21 school year. Enrollment is estimated to increase to 812 students.

The Oklahoma City School Board passed a new five-year charter application for the downtown charter school (November 2019) which eliminated the University of Oklahoma from the charter’s equation.

The OU College of Education has authorized John Rex’s existence as a charter school since 2013. Now, Oklahoma City Public Schools will take over that responsibility.

John Rex Elementary Charter School's current enrollment:

Grades: Prekindergarten-5
Students: 532 students
Student:Teacher Ratio: 20:1
Minority Enrollment: 60%
Overall School Rank: Top 10% in OK
Math Proficiency: 50-54% (Top 20%)
Reading Proficiency: 50-54% (Top 10%)
Diversity Score: 0.73 (Top 10%)

What is the Attendance Zone: https://johnrexschool.org/about/attend/

[SouthSide]

Who pays for the building when it is a charter school? Does OKC PS or is it all private funds?