Enrollment Policy and Process Options The following is a discussion of various enrollment options that may be available for each of the remaining reorganization options. There was a request from the school committee at its last meeting to explore additional enrollment options beyond those previously presented, which could be viewed as a more “fair” process. We have included three options for considerationfor options 5, v2, and 6.
PLAN FOR OPTION 3 - CLOSURE OF MERRIAM
STEP 1: Identify Available Seats by Grade at Conant, Gates, Douglas, Blanchard, and McT once additional sections have been redistributed to the remaining five elementary schools. STEP 2: Priority Placements Based on District Policy Students who meet “school walker” criteria for any of the schools, and whose families wish to utilize that priority, will be placed at those schools first. Additionally, students guaranteed placements with their parent who is a staff member at a particular school (and an Acton/Boxborough resident) will be placed at those schools. STEP 3: Transfer Waitlist Consideration: Students at Merriam who have been on the transfer waitlist prior to October 31, 2025, will be offered the opportunity to transfer to their requested school, subject to available space. Families must submit or confirm requests and accept placement offers by the deadlines provided. STEP 4: Lottery for Remaining Required Transfers: A lottery system will be used to assign remaining Merriam students to the other five schools. Families will be asked to share their preferences for the other five schools, and then a random selection process will be implemented to produce final placements. Families can place their child on a waitlist for other schools should there be openings that emerge before the start of the 26-27 school year. Kindergarten Enrollment for 2026–2027: Following the completion of the placement process for current students, the Kindergarten enrollment process for the 2026–2027 school year will be adjusted to reflect the new elementary school structure. Families will be invited to participate in registration and the Kindergarten lottery process once current student placements are finalized, allowing any sibling considerations to be identified and incorporated.
PLAN FOR OPTION 4 - “MERGE” OF MCT AND MERRIAM
STEP 1: Identify the number of students at Merriam and McT who will need to be transferred to one of the other four elementary schools.
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