Grade 5 will stay at the middle school after all

What happened

Three months after voting to move Grade 5 to Pell Elementary, the School Committee reversed itself and voted to leave Grade 5 at Thompson Middle School for the 2026-2027 school year. The member who brought it back cited new information on staffing and enrolment at Pell; another said he still believed Pell was the right place but doubted the move could be delivered once the superintendent left. The January decision had come with conditions, including a May report on cost and implementation and a requirement that music and art not be displaced, and had followed a parent working group set up in September 2025.

Why it matters to families

It settles which building fifth-graders walk into this year, after a year in which families were told twice, in opposite directions. The reason given for stopping was that the district was not sure it could carry the move out.

The evidence

The April 14, 2026 approved minutes record the motion to leave 5th grade at Thompson Middle School for the 2026-2027 school year, the members' stated reasons including new information on Pell staffing and enrolment and doubts about capacity without the current superintendent, and the public comment that followed. The January 13, 2026 minutes in the same collected record show the earlier 5-2 amended vote to move Grade 5 to Pell.

The source