The Ladue Fifth Grade Center welcomed its first class of fifth graders Aug. 14. The new building opened its doors to Ladue students for the first time since the site was sold in 1980.

The Fifth Grade Center is located on Ladue Road with the newly moved Ladue Early Childhood Center in the same location. The site was purchased from Westminster Christian Academy in April of 2010 after elementary schools were close to overflowing.

The Fifth Grade Center’s school hours are the same as Ladue High School’s hours, causing changes to bus routes this year. Buses must now be split between the two schools, changing pickup and drop off times. In part, this is causing an inconvenience to students throughout the district who are now getting to school and home later.

Though there is some disagreement if the current school times set up for the Fifth Grade Center are going to work well, there are also many benefits to the addition. Though earlier hours may prove detrimental to sleep patterns and buses now must be split between two schools instead of one, the new building also offers opportunities.

So far, the new building has been aiding the school district by making more room in increasingly crowded elementary schools and transitioning students into middle and high school life.