AMHERST — Amethyst Brook Elementary School will be the name of the town’s new K-5 primary school when it opens on South East Street for the 2026-2027 school year.
The Amherst School Committee Tuesday voted 4-0, with member Irv Rhodes absent, to follow the town’s usual practice of naming schools after geography or place names, drawing the new name from the nearby tributary of the Fort River.
In taking the vote, committee members opted against merging the names of the two elementary schools that will be closed, Wildwood and Fort River schools, or using Nonotuck to reflect the Indigenous heritage of the town.
At the same time, the committee, in an identical vote, named the portion of the Amherst Regional Middle School where all Amherst sixth graders will be educated starting next fall as the Chestnut Street Academy, using the building’s physical address to designate the sixth-grade classrooms.
The decisions came after a subcommittee reviewed possible names and then received feedback from a survey of families, students, community members and staff.
Chestnut Street Academy was the top choice for the sixth-grade school in the survey, though Amethyst Brook was the runner-up to Wild River in the name for the new school.
But committee members suggested that creating a combination name of a place that doesn’t exist wouldn’t make sense, and also would have no meaning at all in a few years.
“I really like Amethyst Brook,” said member Sarah Marshall. “I think that’s a beautiful name (and) there is in fact an Amethyst Brook very nearby.”
“I think Amethyst Brook is my personal favorite name,” said Chairwoman Jennifer Shiao. “I think it’s a really pretty name, and we seem to have a practice of naming schools after locations.”
While there was some support for Nonotuck, there were concerns for appropriating Native American name and imagery. Wild River and Riverwood were not dismissed out of hand, though didn’t gain traction against Amethyst Brook.
“The combo names does get to that sense of loss,” said committee member Bridget Hynes.
“That sentiment will dissipate pretty quickly, in my opinion, at least in comparison to the lifetime of this school,” Marshall said.
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said the Chestnut Street name does create a sense of ease when fifth graders are transitioning to the new space next fall.
“We’re creating this name that actually builds within a location, and so it creates an opportunity for them to correlate where they are going, not solely with middle school, but more so where they are located,” Herman said.
Following the discussion on names, the committee turned to talking about whether there would be any way to keep sixth graders in one of the existing elementary school buildings.
Committee member Deb Leonard said there is reason to reconsider their move to the middle school, explaining her reasoning as “financial problems and lack of an educational motivation, a compelling educational motivation, at a considerable expense.”
Shiao, though, cautioned Leonard against presenting plans that would run afoul of the Open Meeting Law, because the community wasn’t fully apprised of the concepts in advance.
In the meeting packet, Leonard showed plans for how the Caminantes dual-language program, housed at Fort River, and the sixth grade academy, could be put into Crocker Farm School.
“There would have been many people and much more public comment if we had properly posted it,” Shiao said.
Hynes said the discussion about restructuring should continue, as it may be an opportunity to save money when facing significant budget challenges and ensure sixth graders are not learning on an island.
“Is it better to put buildings over people, or is there some way to keep our sixth graders in the building we have them in?” Hynes said.
Earlier in the meeting, during a separate K-6 restructuring discussion, Herman speculated about what Leonard might be considering for alternate space, observing that Leonard had not told her or her team about the plans.
Herman observed that Leonard might suggest keeping Wildwood open temporarily as a place to house sixth graders, or to use a part of Crocker Farm School, which will become a K-5 school with a preschool program.
Crocker Farm Principal Derek Shea said the building has 25 classrooms, with six classrooms used for preschool, with the other 19 classrooms currently used by K-6 population.
If brought to a 100% capacity, there would be no room to move, he said. The school is currently using 16 classrooms, with the other three to teach English language learners.
“It starts to feel really claustrophobic, people are in carts, kids are starting to be taught in hallways,” Shea said. “I’d be apprehensive about adding further students to the school right now.”