Although the bell rang for the last time at Black River High School this week, a core group of teachers and students will continue learning together next year.

“They’re creating basically a Black River program within Sartori (Education Center),” said spokesperson Randy Matheson. “It’s exactly what the Black River students and staff were asking for.”

Sartori teachers moved their classrooms to make room for the seven Black River teachers to be together, he said.

BRHS is being torn down this summer to make room for the new Secondary Learning Center, which will combine alternative programs and introduce an alternative middle school, he said.

During Renton School Board meetings, community members and teachers expressed fear the district was abandoning the students by placing them back in the same comprehensive high schools in which they struggled.

Next year only two of the 104 remaining Black River students plan to go back to comprehensive high schools, while about eight students opted to continue their education at a technical college or to earn a GED.

About 76 students plan to move to Sartori, a flexible program that allows students to come and go throughout the week.

However, the Black River students won’t share classes with the about 150 Sartori students, Matheson said.

“It’s a big deal for someone to take their school and change it to this extent,” he said. “The staff at Sartori have been very gracious.”

A freshman class won’t be added to the Black River group, and each year it’s expected to shrink with graduations, Matheson said.

The Lindbergh High School Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD) program is adding a class to accommodate for Black River students, he said.

Three support staff, or 2.5 positions, will also move to Lindbergh.

To maintain student privacy, the district wouldn’t say how many EBD students plan to move to Lindbergh. It did say about 18 EBD students in all will move to either Lindbergh or Renton Academy.

Through the closure, only two positions were eliminated, including a teaching position that was cut with the horticulture program. Other staff members were scattered throughout the district.

Principal Wendell Ellis accepted an assistant principal position at Renton High School, he said.