Redistricting Plan Being Implemented

The School Committee has adopted a plan to use five elementary schools for students in grades PreK-5 and to use the McKeown School as a location for an alternative special education program for middle and high school students. The plan goes into effect for 2008-09 and requires redistricting of our elementary school population. To help parents identify the school to which their child has been assigned, we have prepared a street directory.

In approaching redistricting, the School Committee set several objectives that they wanted to achieve. These objectives include:

• Distribute students in a way which preserves neighborhoods,
• Achieve class sizes below our stated maximum guidelines,
• Maintain district and early childhood programs in the schools where they are currently housed,
• Balance free & reduced lunch percentages across the five elementary schools within the 20-29% range, and
• Minimize additional transportation.

On June 12th, the School Committee approved a budget for next year which incorporates a redistricting plan that I submitted to them on the 10th. Final approval of the FY09 budget is in the hands of the City Council who will vote on June 26th. Anticipating an approved budget, the school administration has begun moving forward to plan for next year. Specifically we are assigning teachers and students for next year's classes and making other logistical plans such as moving of furniture and planning changes in bus transportation.

The deadline for submitting a request for Open Enrollment is Friday, June 20th. Applications are in the form of a letter identifying the request and the reasons. Requests for personal conversations or meetings related to the application will not be honored so as to keep the process fair and consistent. Decisions on Open Enrollment requests will not occur until late July and will be made in a manner consistent with the five objectives defined above. Given the volume of requests, it is likely that not all requests will be granted.

As always, if you have any questions about our schools, please do not hesitate to contact a building principal or central office administrator. To contact the Superintendent's Office, you may call 978-921-6100 or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Jim Hayes
Superintendent of Schools