South Fayette school administrators are recommending that the district group third- to fifth-graders together and offer them an educational program that focuses on integrating the arts into the classroom.

Committing to that idea could help direct building plans, school board member William Newcomer said at the board's Nov. 25 meeting.

District officials have been debating how to accommodate expected increases in enrollment in the elementary and middle schools. Possibilities include constructing a new building, adding on to the elementary school or using temporary structures.

A statewide focus on the importance of integrating arts into other courses could be an opportunity to forge a cutting-edge program in which teachers incorporate visual arts, music, theater and dance into instruction, Superintendent Linda Hippert said.

"We want to create a model three-to-five school," Dr. Hippert said after the meeting.

Currently, the district's elementary school houses kindergarten through grade four and the middle school contains grades five through eight.

With the school board's approval, Dr. Hippert said, administrators would begin researching the number of core classrooms needed for grades three, four and five and the amount of space required for special courses such as technology education and shared areas such as the library and cafeteria. Then the district could develop space accordingly.

"Conceptually, if we knew the educational plan, we could plan better for the facilities," Mr. Newcomer said. "If we have to do something temporary, we know exactly what we have to plan for, exactly what we need."

Dr. Hippert said fifth-graders -- mostly 10- and 11-year-olds -- were flexible , could be grouped with younger pupils and tend to be willing to express themselves without worrying what their peers think.

"Children of that age are like sponges," Dr. Hippert said. "They absorb everything, and it's creating a foundation for all of their future learning."

Mr. Newcomer said he hoped the school board in January or February would approve the concept of creating an intermediate school for grades three through five so the administration could start working out details.

With a son in fifth grade, Mr. Newcomer said he supports grouping fifth-graders with third- and fourth-graders to ease the transition between the elementary and middle schools.

Five trailers currently are being used to provide more space in the crowded elementary school. Largely because of high enrollment, the district this year created two principal positions, one for kindergarten through second grade and another for the third and fourth grades.

A group of real estate agents, developers and township officials have been invited to discuss trends in local real estate at the Jan. 27 school board meeting. School directors hope to discover if recent economic conditions mean the community will see less population growth than a 2007 demographic study predicted.