AMHERST — Caminantes, the dual-language Spanish and English program at Fort River School, will expand into sixth grade next fall when all Amherst sixth graders move to the Amherst Regional Middle School.
In unveiling the latest plans for what sixth grade will look like in fall 2026, as these students move to the middle school from Fort River, Wildwood and Crocker Farm schools, school leaders last week presented to the Amherst School Committee that will have eight, sixth-grade classrooms, with about 18 students in each, in their own corridor in the same building where seventh and eighth graders from the four regional towns are educated.
“Based on what was given, I think we’re at a place where we have a good opportunity for the kids to have a real shot at having an innovative program that provides them with sixth-grade elementary experience, but also to have more of an opportunity around specials, clubs, as well as language,” said Tonya McIntyre, director of curriculum, equity and instructional leadership.
In addition to being committed to bringing Caminantes to sixth grade, expanding a program that has added one grade level each year since it began, all sixth graders will have 900 hours of learning time during the year and will have both recess and a dedicated lunch period.
The daily schedule will start at 9:05 a.m. and throughout the day, which concludes at 3:35 p.m., students will have math, science, social studies and English, with recess and lunch in late morning.
The day will also have an innovative world language program, with students rotating through the study of various languages, and all the services that are required by law for students’ educational plans. The Academic Individualized Mainstream Support, or AIMS, Building Blocks and Intensive Learning Center, or ILC, will come to the sixth-grade school, along with English Language Learners services.
The schedule also includes the creation of what is being called the Community Connections Block, an idea of creating two complementary pathways, one known as the Community & the Arts Pathway, the other as the Community & Citizenship Pathway.
The former will emphasize creative expression, collaboration, innovation and leadership experiences through band, orchestra and other arts-based opportunities, while the latter will emphasize service, sustainability, innovation and leadership experiences through quarterly experiential learning themes, such as Garden & Sustainability and Student-Led Clubs & Agency, Service Learning & Community Care and Innovation & Leadership.
McIntyre said the idea is to have a strong academic program to allow the students to enjoy their studies and thrive in the new location.
“We wanted to really make sure that kids have an opportunity to have an innovative, exciting program there,” McIntyre said. “They’re getting to do a new thing, and with that comes an ability to have a little innovation, and that’s through world language, through Community Connections.”
While starting with eight classrooms, which under the draft plan is on the south side of the building, McIntyre said this will ensure the best experience for the 145 current fifth graders, with 162 sixth graders anticipated in the second year.
“We’re starting with eight sections to accommodate for the growth that will happen, so that we can have an average class size that stays in alignment with Amherst’s needs,” McIntyre said.
Staffing will meet the needs of the students, though the exact number of educators isn’t yet known.
Committee members asked whether there is any chance that sixth graders would be somewhere else, whether there is room in the new school and Crocker Farm.
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said she doesn’t believe it would be possible to change course at this point.
“I would want to know what other space, because I don’t think we have any other space available at all,” Herman said.
Donna DiNisco, the designer for the new school building, explained that while there are 30 classrooms in the new building, possibly enough to accommodate some sixth graders, she said adding another grade creates other issues, such as scheduling the one art room and the one music room.
“The school experience goes beyond the general classroom,” DiNiosco said.
In addition, DiNisco said, the gym was reduced from a standard 6,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet as a cost savings measure. The cafeteria can fit up to 212 students at one time, meaning there might be a need to go to four sections for lunch if more students are in the building.
The design has flexibility for growth in the K-5 grades, but not for there to be seven grades in the building, she said.