3 | ACTON-BOXBOROUGH REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT | ANNUAL REPORT 2025–2026
SUPERINTENDENT’S WELCOME
DEAR ACTON AND BOXBOROUGH COMMUNITY,
I’m proud to share highlights from the 2025–2026 school year. This was a year unlike any other in our district’s recent history, and our students, staff, and families met it with remarkable strength. Reimagining Our Elementary Schools In one of the most significant decisions our community has faced in a generation, the School Committee voted this year to reorganize our elementary model of education. For 50 years, open enrollment was a hallmark of the Acton- Boxborough schools, giving families the ability to
choose the elementary school that best fit their child. This year, we transitioned to a geographic enrollment model based on where students live, ending an era that helped define our district’s identity. Alongside that change, we said goodbye to the five Acton elementary schools that have educated our children for more than five decades: Conant, Douglas, Gates, McCarthy-Towne, and Merriam. In their place, four new schools open this fall: Boardwalk Lower and Upper Elementary, and Parker Damon Lower and Upper Elementary. Blanchard Memorial School, Boxborough’s only elementary school, will continue in its K-6 format, but the Blanchard community was not untouched by this change. All of our elementary schools said goodbye to students, staff, and families who will move to other buildings, and it will welcome new members of its community this fall. Change of this magnitude touches every corner of a community. Our schools held final art shows, community celebrations, and reunions that drew back alumni, retired educators, and families spanning generations, including a teacher who served on the original Conant staff in 1971. These celebrations honored what these schools meant to Acton while our educators simultaneously pre- pared students for what comes next. Throughout the transition, we prioritized student well-being with dedicated counseling support, peer cohort planning,
family webinars, and clinical partnerships to help every child navigate the change. I encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the process to visit abschools.org/read-the-plan . This reorganization is also the first step in launching AB Forward, our new strategic plan for 2026–2031. Grounded in our Vision of a Graduate, the plan is built around four priorities: Welcoming & Inclusive School Communities, Student Academic Outcomes & Social-Emotional Wellbeing, Responsive Support for Staff , and Sustainable District Systems & Operations . The reorganization delivers directly on that final priority, setting us on a path to more sustainable schools. With elementary enrollment declining and costs rising faster than our revenues, consolidating our buildings is projected to save $16 to $17 million over the next ten years while avoiding an estimated $50 to $100 million in future costs to renovate or replace an aging building. The new geographic model also allows us to balance class sizes and enrollment across all of our schools for years to come.
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software