Discussions on moving sixth grade to Pioneer on pause

Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield.

Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield. STAFF FILE PHOTO

By CHRIS LARABEE

Staff Writer

Published: 01-14-2025 9:58 AM

NORTHFIELD — While the Pioneer Valley Regional School District opted last summer to revisit the idea of moving the sixth grade classes to the middle and high school, the conversation is again being put on pause.

Superintendent Patricia Kinsella said she and the rest of the district’s administrative team decided to hold off on continuing the conversation as the new director of curriculum will not start for several more months and new Pioneer Valley Regional School Principal Annie Scanlan-Emigh is exploring a change to the school schedule.

“We’ve got a new and excellent principal in this building who’s working on some exciting initiatives, including possibly some significant changes to the school schedule,” Kinsella said at last week’s School Committee meeting. “If those were to go through, the whole building needs time to live with the changed schedule before thinking about bringing in other students.”

It is the second time the district has put the discussion on pause in recent years, as the prospect of moving the sixth grade classes from Northfield and Bernardston elementary schools was previously considered in 2021, but the School Committee postponed the matter because it was unable to meet a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education deadline for answering questions. It was also a time of leadership change, with Kinsella joining the district in August 2021 at an interim level.

Kinsella requested permission from the School Committee to revisit the conversation last summer with the intention of involving the three member towns, as the school district was in a solid place in terms of building leadership.

“We had really hoped to begin the community-wide conversation this fall about whether we wanted to bring grade six up to Pioneer. That was our intention and the School Committee kindly gave me permission to begin that process,” she said. “We have realized it is once again, unfortunately, not the time to have that conversation.”

If the district wants to bring up the topic again, Kinsella said it will be a long-range plan, as she noted the preferred practice will be to give at least a year’s notice before a change takes place.

“The administrative team also came to an internal understanding that they believe the schools and families need a full year of advance notice before a move takes place,” she said. “I don’t anticipate bringing this up in the next 12 months.”

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Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.