Committee votes down moving 5th grade back to elementary school

What happened

Some parents have asked the district for years to move 5th graders out of the middle school and back into their neighborhood elementary schools. On March 11 the School Committee voted 1-6 against doing it, after middle-school teachers and the principal argued the current model -- two teachers sharing about 15 students all day -- is working and a move would cost money the district doesn't have.

Why it matters to families

This decides which building 5th graders attend for at least another year and settles, for now, a debate that has run since before the pandemic.

The evidence

The March 11 minutes record the roll-call vote: 'Yes: MG. No: SS, MW, AC, ED, GD, JD. Motion does not pass,' after testimony from a 5th-grade teacher and the middle-school principal defending the current setup.

The source