School Committee Receives Update on Sixth Grade Move to the Middle School

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst School Committee, August 19, 2025

The meeting was held remotely, was live streamed, and was recorded.

Present
Present: Jennifer Shiao (Chair), Deb Leonard, Bridget Hynes, Sarah Marshall  Absent: Irv Rhodes

Staff:  Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) (School Superintendent), Tonya McIntyre (Director of Curriculum, Equity and Instructional Leadership), Marta Guevara (Director of Student and Family Engagement), Meghan Duskhko (Assistant to the Superintendent), Derek Shea (Principal, Crocker Farm Elementary School)

The bulk of the meeting was dedicated to reports on summer meetings of the administrative team dealing with the 2026 academic year: the opening of the new elementary school at Fort River, the drawing of new enrollment boundaries for elementary school students, and the move of all Amherst sixth graders to the middle school building. The committee also voted to adopt a new policy: Commitment to Identity-Affirming School Culture and Staff Accountability.

Admin Week 2025
The Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts held Admin Week 2025 at the beginning of August. This weeklong series of planning and strategy sessions for district leaders prepares the District Leadership team for the upcoming school year.  During this week of training, the district leadership team from all three school districts focused on strengthening collaboration, refining procedures, and ensuring every student receives high-quality and inclusive education. Facilitated by the Collaborative for Educational Services, the week’s work centered on building role clarity, improving communication, and aligning policies and practices to better serve all learners, including multilingual learners, students receiving special education services, and those requiring equitable access.

Update on K-6 Restructuring
Dr. Xi reported that leadership team has been working all summer on the upcoming consolidation of the town’s elementary schools and is excited about the 2026 school year. Tonya McIntyre offered a PowerPoint presentation of the programmatic priorities for the newly configured elementary schools and a summary of a survey of elementary school staff concerning the consolidation.

The survey revealed some wariness about the move of the sixth graders to the middle school and of accepting a teaching assignment for sixth grade, but it also showed considerable enthusiasm for the creation of new, suitable educational environments. Many respondents noted that relocating the sixth grade to a dedicated building would alleviate current overcrowding, leading to improved teaching and learning conditions.

Dr. Xi provided a PowerPoint presentation with updates on the plan to move all sixth graders to the middle school with the opening of the new elementary school at Fort River in 2026. The new school was designed as a K-5 school and will not be large enough to accommodate all the town’s sixth graders (see here and here). While most decisions that need to be made about the move are still in process (e.g. configuration of the building, transportation, leadership and staffing models), Dr. Xi expected all decisions to be completed by the end of September.

Dr. Xi reported that at the district’s meetings with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), they learned that the middle school arrangement would not be a sixth grade academy as originally imagined but a sixth grade school.  A sixth grade academy is a sixth grade program established within (and as part of)  a middle school.  That option is not available to Amherst because it is not encompassed within the regional agreement which designates the region as grades 7-12.  Amherst will now be listed in the DESE system as having three elementary schools (Crocker Farm, Fort River and the as-yet-unnamed sixth grade school). 

Dr. Xi said she was aware that there are a lot of concerns about the change coming to Amherst elementary schools and consequently she has scheduled a series of listening sessions with multiple separate sessions for staff, for parents, and for fifth graders, to hear concerns and to keep the community maximally informed as plans are finalized. Parent meetings will likely be virtual and staff sessions likely hybrid  She has also scheduled monthly information sessions to keep the community informed of the emerging consolidation plans in a timely way. See schedules below.

Dr. Xi noted that the sixth grade school will be adopting a secondary school model and hence DESE will require the sixth graders to complete the annual 990 instructional hour requirement rather than the 900 hour requirement that applies to elementary schools.

No Alternatives to This Model
Bridget Hynes lamented that sixth graders were going to lose their opportunity to be the leaders in their school. She also worried about  the potential social isolation of being in a sixth grade only arrangement.  She thought that there must be a better way to do this. She wanted to know if there were any other options available besides the one that is being planned. “I just don’t like the model,” she said. 

Dr. Xi pointed out that these decisions were made before she and Hynes came on board and that there was simply not enough time to explore other options. “All we can do is to implement the decision that has been made in the best possible way,” she said.

Amherst’s sixth graders cannot be integrated into the middle school in a grade 6-8 configuration because the regional agreement defines the region as grades 7-12.  In order to integrate sixth graders into the middle school, all four towns of the region (Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury) would have to agree to amend their regional agreement to make it a grades 6-12 region.  There hasn’t been a lot of interest from the other towns in making this change and at this point, there is not enough time to enact it for 2026. But Dr. Xi indicated the possibility remains open for 2027 or 2028.

Dr. Xi noted that the anticipated cost savings for consolidation will not be substantial.  There will be some new efficiencies from consolidating Wildwood and Fort River schools at the new Fort River School and hence savings, but the sixth grade school will require its own administrative staff (separate from that of the middle school) and that will entail unanticipated costs.

More Information: Amherst Regional Public Schools Sixth Grade Move Web Page

Who Will Attend the New Fort River School?
School Committee members raised concerns about which criteria will be used in establishing enrollment zones. Shiao noted that last time the town restructured  enrollment zones, “it was a big deal and there were a lot of concerns,” so she wants to ensure that the School Committee has plenty of time to deliberate and study the plans. She would also like families to know where their students will be going by the end of the calendar year. 

Derek Shea noted that Amherst schools have been doing the same thing for 29 years and that it’s exciting to be exploring a new configuration to better meet the challenges of the times. 

Shea pointed out that last year, over 95 students were enrolled in Amherst’s  preschool, at least half of whom were designated as high needs. Shea said, “Preschool is so important for student development  especially for kids coming from a high needs background. It needs to be considered in how we draw the boundaries.”

The preschool can’t be located in the new building at Fort River because that building was not designed for children that young and also because it cannot accommodate those numbers. The preschool will remain at Crocker Farm with the anticipation that demand for such services is likely to grow.

Read more: Amherst’s Early Education Center Prepares Children for Kindergarten (Amherst Indy)

Deb Leonard broached the possibility of renovating the shuttered South Amherst School campus for a preschool.  She noted that the planning for the new building at Fort River presumed a declining enrollment in town but that may not prove to be the case. Sarah Marshall said that she reached out to the Town Manager over a year ago concerning the possible use of the South Amherst campus and seeking confirmation as to whether the School Committee had ceded the property back to the town, but never got a response.

Sarah Marshall wanted to know what variables would be used in drawing the new boundaries. Dr. Xi responded that there were several demographic variables that factored into the discussion and that the consultants (InnovateK12) would draw up multiple models for the district to consider. Boundary work will be completed by the end of the month.

All special programs for the Amherst elementary schools, including the dual language Caminantes program, will be located at the new school at Fort River. There will be a single schedule for all students at the school no matter the program. Currently,  Caminantes is essentially running as a separate school inside Fort River.

Adoption of School Committee Policy
The policy, Commitment to Identity Affirming School Culture and Staff Accountability was adopted by a vote of 4-0 with one absent.  The policy will apply across all of Amherst school districts and has already been approved by the Regional Schools and the Pelham School District.

Public Comment
No one offered public comment at the meeting but two comments were received in writing, both expressing concerns about plans for the sixth grade move.  They can be read here.

Announcements
Shiao announced that the town’s annual first day celebration will be held on Monday, August 25 from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m at Kendrick Park. All ages are welcome for an afternoon of fun, including meeting our superintendent and principals, checking out fire trucks and school buses, connecting with community partners, and enjoying a free ice cream treat. 

Shiao announced that the Town Council voted in June to send a memo to the School Committee concerning next year’s budget but the School Committee has  not yet received that memo. Shiao has sent inquiries to the Town Council president but has not received a response.

Deb Leonard reported that at the Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) meeting on August 15, concerns were raised about the approved playground surface material, Corkeen, because of reports of installation problems in Easton, MA. Corkeen and engineered wood fiber were the only surface materials that permitted full accessibility and were acceptable to the Conservation Commission. An alternative accessible material, rubber poured in place, was rejected by the Conservation Commission and the Board of Health because its toxicity (heavy metals and carcinogens), posed a threat to the nearby Fort River, as well as to the safety of children. The ESBC will vote next month on how to proceed. Leonard has asked for examples of successful installations of Corkeen to compare with the narratives of unsuccessful installation.

Dr. Xi praised the annual backpack distribution by the ARPS Family Center and advised that any families that were unable to get a backpack for their children should get in touch with the Center.