As part of Holyoke Public Schools’ rezoning efforts, more than half of all students in grades PreK-8 will attend a new school next year when the district completes its transition to separate elementary (PK-5) and middle (6-8) schools and redraws school boundary lines for fall 2023.
“We are excited about continuing our move to separate elementary and middle schools,” said Superintendent Anthony Soto. “This change is in response to significant community input over the last six years and tightens up efforts that had already started. It will help us better prepare students academically and socially, offer a more equitable experience across our schools, and dedicate more resources to instruction.”
“While there are significant benefits to rezoning, we also understand that change is disruptive and can raise feelings of uncertainty,” said HPS Chief of Strategy and Turnaround Erin Linville. “We believe it’s important to seek out and incorporate the voices of those impacted. That’s why we have designed an inclusive process and why we continue to offer many opportunities for our families, community members, staff and students to learn more about rezoning and to offer input.”
The district website is one place to obtain more information about rezoning, while this FAQ document provides answers to commonly asked questions. Participating in community conversations is also an important way to learn more, ask questions, and offer opinions, she said.
The big-picture decision to rezone was made after many years of soliciting stakeholder input, innovating, and planning. The next step is to develop a concrete plan for how each individual school will be configured. To accomplish this, HPS has scheduled four community conversations to provide information and gather feedback:
There will be two in-person Family and Community Conversations
- Wednesday, September 14, 5 pm: Kelly
- Fun, supervised activities for children ages 3 – 14, provided by Learn in Motion and YMCA
- Free food
- Free transportation available from Lawrence and Morgan
- Lawrence Pick-Up: 4:30
- Morgan Pick-Up: 4:40
- No need to register in advance
- Thursday, September 29, 5:30 pm: Family and Community meeting at Holyoke High
- Fun, supervised activities for children ages 3 – 14, provided by Learn in Motion and YMCA
- Free food
- Free transportation available from Donahue and Sullivan
- No need to register in advance
- There will be two virtual Family and Community Conversations. Register here to receive the Zoom link.
- Wednesday, September 21, 9 a.m.
- Tuesday, October 11, 5:30 p.m.