AMHERST — Despite Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman outlining harms that could be caused by creating uncertainty around where this year’s Amherst fifth graders will be educated next fall, School Committee members in December intend to have a discussion, and possible vote, on the location of the 6th Grade Academy.
While years of planning have been done by superintendents and administrators to get space in a portion of the Amherst Regional Middle School ready for sixth-grade classes, School Committee member Deb Leonard at Tuesday’s meeting urged her colleagues to have a conversation on the topic that could lead to a vote for having sixth graders educated at a different, unspecified site.
“There just seemed to me a lot of pieces that I think justify this committee revisiting them, discussing them and reconsidering whether the plan going forward can include a 6th Grade Academy in one of the (existing) buildings,” Leonard said.
In a 3-2 vote, the matter will be part of the committee’s Dec. 16 meeting. Supporting Leonard’s motion were Bridget Hynes and Irv Rhodes, while opposing were Chairwoman Jennifer Shiao and Sarah Marshall.
A new K-5 elementary school for 575 students will open next fall on South East Street, leading to the closing of both Fort River and Wildwood schools, while Crocker Farm will transition into a K-5 school with a preschool program.
The middle school, which houses seventh and eighth graders from Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett, has long been identified as the site of the 6th Grade Academy, a stand-alone program since the other three regional towns have not supported adding sixth graders to the regional building.
The vote came after Herman said it would be disrespectful to the ongoing work, calling it “poor timing” to not bring these concerns forward when she began her tenure in July 2024.
“I would find a conversation, a surprise plan to be blindsiding to the work that was done,” Herman said. “It is November, we are full fledged into planning for the ’26-27 school year.”
Herman added that this could affect students and their families, as well as staff.
“This has potential impacts, even a discussion has serious potential impacts for staff who are already anxious about how we move forward,” Herman said.
By Jan. 15, Herman is supposed to send out an operational timeline for both K-5 schools and the 6th Grade Academy, with staff notified about assignments in February, in advance of requirements spelled out in their contracts.
Leonard said a discussion on an alternate location other than the middle school has not been held. Leonard said there is enough questioning from residents to revisit the rationale for using the middle school and there should be an opportunity for conversation and refining information.
“No School Committee that I know of has discussed this in the context of the existing enrollment situation, the existing financial constraints that the town has placed upon the academy,” Leonard said.
Marshall, though, said this creates uncertainty and potentially a severe disruption to the administration.
“Just putting this on the table, then the possibility of changing the plan is out there,” Marshall said. “That, alone, is going to cause some serious heartburn among families who have been hearing about the sixth-grade program.”
Marshall said she would be strongly opposed to backtrack on the plans, undermining the work of three superintendents and numerous administrators’ “countless hours” spent developing the sixth-grade plan.
“The Amherst School Committee more than four years ago agreed to move them and the regional school committee agreed to accept them,” Marshall said.
“To suggest that we might change course at this late hour, in my view, is disrespectful of our employees and is insensitive to the families, such as those of fifth graders at Fort River who will be sixth graders next year, and to the need for stability,” Marshall said. “Suggesting that we’re now going to say, ‘stop, we may change our minds about all of this,’ I think it’s incredibly counterproductive.”
Data show there will be 144 students in 6th Grade Academy and while Leonard wouldn’t identify where they might go, if not the middle school, Hynes said there is enough space in the new school and at Crocker Farm, which at one time housed 435 students.
Hynes said at least four classrooms of swing space appear to be available for sixth graders.
“I still feel like really confused why we’re going through all that,” Hynes said. “It feels like we should be able to make space for everyone.”
Hynes said she is also worried about the educational purposes and whether the schools would be serving the students as best they could, and in the midst of funding challenges, adding building and administrative staff.
“Because the questions are coming so strongly to mind, I’d like us to take a moment, take a breath, and delve more into it,” Hynes said.
Hynes said she found no enthusiasm or excitement on the campaign trail when speaking to families.
“I want to be able to speak clearly about the how and why of we’re doing this,” Hynes said.
Hynes said one of her concerns is that sixth graders in specialized education programs will have to share those resources with middle schoolers.
Special education programs will rely on collaboration between elementary school and middle school staff, Herman said. “I agree there needs to be thoughtful planning,” she said.
Herman said while space looks sufficient, packing students in close to capacity will limit the ability to educate people who move into town over the summer.
Rhodes agreed that there are a lot of expectations and mixed feelings about the 6th Grade Academy, and reversing course would jeopardize a lot of the work already done. But a discussion, he said, is appropriate.
“Nothing would be lost by doing that, but a lot would be gained by doing that,” Rhodes said.
“On the one hand I think it would be counterproductive,” Rhodes said. “On the other hand, I think this is something that would resonate with other sections of our community, in terms of whether they would have questions about it.”
Observing that she could have used her discretion as chairwoman to not have Leonard’s request taken up, Shiao said she worries about having the community lose confidence in the committee, and voting for some sort of change in the 6th Grade Academy could be problematic.
“I think there is something to be lost by putting this on the agenda for December,” Shiao said. “I think it would be very unsettling to people to hear that we’re considering making this change.”