Incoming Acton Kindergarten Class Numbers Dictate Closing of One Classroom

Holly Fitzgerald, mother of an incoming kindergartener, toured all five of Acton’s elementary schools and carefully consulted with her husband around how to rank order them on their son’s registration paperwork. The couple concluded that was their first choice, followed by .

Anxious to learn about the , Fitzgerald checked the school system’s website to confirm the date that placements would be shared with parents. She stumbled upon some surprising information: a chart with revised figures showing that a classroom at Gates had been eliminated, leaving fewer spaces than projected when the selection process began.

The new data showed that 37 of the 55 children whose families who requested Gates were given “priority status.” In kindergarten-registration lingo, this means that these youngsters are either siblings of current Gates students or designated walkers who are guaranteed placement.

After allowing for the priority students, there remained room for only three more kindergarteners.

When she looked at the figures, Fitzgerald realized that Gates was not the least-requested school of incoming new families.

“Based on those numbers, they should have closed one of the kindergarten classes instead,” she said.

“The reason that Gates was selected was because of space,” said Marie Altieri, who serves as the school system’s Director of Personnel and Administrative Services and oversees the kindergarten lottery.

“We knew that we would be able to have 14 kindergartens instead of 15 the following year, but since we had fewer kindergarteners, we decided to go ahead this year,” said Altieri. “We expect to have two kindergartens at Gates for two years and then we can return to three.”

The incoming group's average class size is currently 19.7 students.

The 18 non-priority families who had named Gates their first choice were sent a letter informing them of the change. These parents were given the option of re-submitting their rankings. Five of them did so, thereby reducing number of students in the Gates lottery to 13.

In the end, 10 families were placed on a waiting list.

Jennifer Standley, a parent who had also toured all five schools, chose Gates for her twins. She later amended their registration forms, substituting second-choice Douglas for Gates.

“We wanted to ensure that we were placed in one of our top three schools,” Standley said of her motivation.

When the results were shared, both Standley and Fitzgerald learned that their children were assigned to their first-choice schools.

“We got Douglas,” said Fitzgerald. “But the fact that they closed a kindergarten this late in the game and didn’t notify everyone was frustrating. It couldn’t have been a surprise that enrollment was low. People do the annual census as required by the town.”

Gates principal Lynne Newman said, “We always think we know the numbers, but it’s not that simple. It’s not a perfect science. We have to wait for the actual numbers.”

“It’s not a new problem. It’s happened at Merriam before,” she added, referencing prior years when Merriam added fourth sections of kindergarten.

Explaining that her school has had “chronic space constraints,” Newman said, “It was hard not to look at Gates and say ‘this could be an opportunity.’” 

“At the other schools all the teachers work in classrooms,” said Newman. “Our art and music are not in classrooms. We have music on the stage. We have art space in the library.”

When the incoming class moves on to first grade in the fall of 2013, a Gates classroom will become available. At that time, one Gates teacher will no longer be needed. This staffing pattern will continue until the incoming kindergarteners finish 6^th grade and leave Gates.

“The staff understands there will be a domino effect,” said Newman, who stated that there are often opportunities for teachers to transfer from one school to another as attrition occurs. “They’ll work together and help each other out,” she said, calling her teachers “hardworking” and “wonderful.”

“We’ll definitely be careful and thoughtful going forward,” Newman said.

Regarding the children of parents disappointed by this year’s decreased access to Gates, Newman said, “Choosing a school feels like a big  responsibility. But they will thrive and excel in all the schools.”

“That first year is so special, but it’ll be special wherever they go,” said Newman.