NATCHEZ — The structure for students in grades 6 through 12 will drastically change at two Natchez-Adams School District schools following a school board approved plan Thursday to improve performance.

The plan, which Superintendent Frederick Hill presented to the board for approval Thursday, focuses attention on Morgantown Middle School and Natchez High School.

The two schools have received “F” ratings in the last two years, and another failing rating in September means the schools will be taken over by the state department of education, which would include all teachers being fired and replaced.

Hill told board members a reorganization of some schools in the 2011-12 school year prior to his arrival included insignificant changes in programming to the middle school and high school.

The new plan to restructure the schools includes establishing three smaller learning communities for students: middle school academies, an early college model and a career academy.

The changes, Hill said, are structured around the idea of smaller classes and more personal teacher instruction. They will be enacted for the 2014-15 school year.

“We have the opportunity to change what we know right now is simply not working at those schools,” Hill said. “At all the meetings I’ve had with community groups and individuals, I’ve only had one negative comment expressed to me.”

The Academies at Morgantown will serve as a school within a school and will feature three academies or focuses of study: leadership, arts or college prep.

Students in grades six through eight would pick a specific academy at the beginning of the year and would have to wait until the end of the year to change.

Each academy will be physically housed on the same campus, but each will carry its own staff and accountability.

Support staff — such as custodial, food, safety and office services — will be shared by all three academies.

“The biggest difference will be the elective courses,” Hill said. “Each one of the academies will offer the basic math, science, social studies and language arts, but the difference would be the elective classes that support their academy.”

A student in the college prep academy, for example, could choose between foreign language or ACT prep, while an arts academy student could choose between band, chorus and visual arts.

From the academies at Morgantown, students would transition to the Natchez Freshman Academy. The district implemented a freshman academy in 2011-2012, but Hill said the newly proposed freshman academy would be more independent than the current model.

“The programming is really based on what types of courses these students need to transition to high school,” Hill said. “If students make it to the high school level, ninth grade is a critical year to keep them here and get them to graduate.”

The current Freshman Academy is housed on the high school’s campus, but Hill said the new model would be at a different location.

Hill said he would be identifying possible locations in the district where the academy could be housed, but one predetermined location could be at the district’s alternative school.

“It’s a large school there, and yes it does serve our alternative students, but there’s a lot of unused space there,” Hill said. “It could accommodate the class sizes for next year.”