Bringing back middle school education to Carrisa Plains

By Letter to Editor · Wed May 28 2025

To the Editor,

Carrisa Plains Elementary, located in rural eastern San Luis Obispo County, once operated as a K–8 school. Today, students in grades 6–8 are bused nearly 100 miles each day to Atascadero Middle School. This long commute affects both learning time and student well-being — despite existing options that would allow those grades to remain onsite.

We’ve proposed three solutions to bring middle school education back to Carrisa Plains:

• Restore sixth grade using a credentialed multi-subject teacher, as permitted under state law.
• Offer a virtual learning option for 6th–8th graders on the Carrisa Plains campus, providing academic continuity and keeping students close to home while maintaining vital peer interaction.
• Pursue state waivers to meet credentialing requirements for 7th and 8th-grade instruction, allowing flexibility in rural school staffing, as these grades typically require single-subject credentialed educators.

The Atascadero Unified School District has not yet offered a clear explanation as to why these options cannot be implemented, nor have they proposed any viable alternatives. While funding has been mentioned as a concern, available information suggests that the policy, infrastructure, and state flexibility provisions all support the return of grades 6–8 to Carrisa Plains.

Sincerely,

Adriane Twisselman

President & Spokesperson

Carrisa Plains Parents, Teachers, & Friends