Michelle Brantley is the principal of Middle College High School. The school’s 21-year stay on the campus of Southwest Tennessee Community College will come to an end this school year.  (Courtesy photo)

Memphis City Schools Supt. Kriner Cash confirmed the shift during an interview last week.

“Yes. We are going to have to find a new home for them come next year,” said Cash. “Southwest college is saying they don’t have enough space to keep housing them.”

While no decision has been made on a new site, Cash was adamant that “we’ll find another place. I believe in the Middle College concept. I think those schools are helpful. I plan to expand it. I plan to have one in each region.”

Cash’s governing philosophy includes administering the City Schools through a four-region setup. He did not give a timetable for expanding the middle college concept within the school system.

Robert Miller, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing for Southwest, said the college informed Memphis City Schools last summer that the lease for Middle College High School would not be continued beyond June 2009.

“Middle College High School is a fine institution that has achieved a number of excellent results with their students. However, our Union Avenue Campus is in dire need of additional academic space to expand our current offerings and develop new programs. Past opportunities to increase our enrollment at the Union Avenue Campus have been challenged due to an acute lack of available space on campus,” Miller said.

“But, we are pleased to have accommodated Middle College High School for many years. It has been a positive role model in producing many great successes for numerous high school students. Southwest will continue partnering with Middle College High School on key projects as we do with other city schools.”

Middle College High School is a joint educational collaborative between Memphis City Schools and the Tennessee Board of Regents. For sixteen years the school has been a part of the National Middle College Consortium that includes more than 25 school-college partnerships.

According to its Web site, Middle College High School is a college preparatory school that offers “a small personalized learning community where students in grades nine through twelve can earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit toward a bachelors degree.”

The school opened with 100 sophomores. Today it serves about 235 freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. In addition to the main office in the Southwest E-building, there  also is attendance office in the M-building and 13 dedicated rooms located throughout the Union Avenue campus.

The Middle College class schedule coincides with the Southwest schedule. Students regularly attend classes from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. for 180 days. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays the school day is extended for an hour for students who do not master objectives within the allotted time. A Saturday Academy for remediation or enrichment runs from 9 a.m. to noon.

A 20-day summer session gives students a chance to make up work or use it for remediation.

(Wiley Henry contributed to this report.)