09/07/2025
While I’m generally aware of the conversations on social media, I prefer to share my thoughts in meetings where they can be heard and viewed by everyone. However, recent posts and comments I’ve been seeing can really do a disservice when we’re discussing a big move like this one.
So let me clear up a few things regarding the 5th/8th grade reconfiguration:
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁:
The elementary schools are overcrowded. They have been described to me as "suffocating" and "unsustainable" - especially Aitken. I won't go into the details here but the information is available. I was approached by several educators looking for solutions and eager to show me how difficult teaching is in these conditions. It’s remarkable that our staff continues to rise to the challenge, but it shouldn’t be the standard we accept. My goal here is to create conditions where students and educators can thrive - not just cope across all schools.
To paint the picture that was painted for me regarding their specials: the students go to art (which shares a space with library), library (which, you guessed it, shares a space with art), music (which shares a space with the cafeteria so the kids have a hard time hearing over the kids eating lunch) or technology (which comes into their classroom). As one teacher said to me “everywhere the kids go at Aitken, there is not enough room for them. Including their own classrooms.”
At the most recent meeting Mr. Juckett pointed out that with our constrained budget, freeing up the four classrooms at each school wouldn’t mean smaller class sizes because we still need the money to pay teachers. And that’s a fair point. Class sizes won’t immediately decrease. However, right now every classroom at Aitken is being utilized. Meaning when teachers or specialists want to pull kids out for one-on-one work or small groups – they simply have nowhere to go. Having that flexibility matters: even if class sizes remain high, creating space for targeted support is one of the most effective ways to soften the impact.
And although Martin has dedicated classrooms for art and music, they face similar space issues as our population increases.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱:
There’s been many solutions proposed. However, recognizing the town’s reluctance to expand investment in education, we must work within those parameters and consider the least expensive options. This is the reason North School is not an option. (And I live less than a mile from North. Trust me, if this was an option I'd be it's #1 advocate.)
This left us with the two types of reconfiguration – the 5th/8th bump and the K-2/3-5 split. Since the latter would mean some small children on buses for nearly 2 hours a day and parents trying to coordinate pick ups and drops offs – we focused on the 5th/8th move.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿:
Last year, the Committee opted not to move forward and instead to pursue a long-term solution. On that point, I think we can all agree: we need a lasting fix. That’s why we submitted our Statement of Interest to the MSBA, which is the first step toward either building a new school or renovating HMS.
In the meantime, we faced a sudden spike in kindergarten enrollment for the 25/26 year and didn't have room for them. We had parents demanding to know why we didn't do anything last year when we had the chance.
So over the summer we did the only thing we could do - which was take a classroom from the second grade (the last grade in Aitken that had class sizes ideal for learning) and give it to the kindergarten. Understandably we had 2nd grade parents disappointed with that decision. [For the record, I was one of those parents. My daughter went from being in a class of 18 to a class of 24.]
Now it's September again and we need to make a decision to give faculty and the PTOs time to plan. Aitken’s numbers have only increased and if we do get a Covid baby bump - which is predicted for the demographic that lives in Seekonk, we currently have no space for those kids. Without a plan, the next step would be to take another classroom from an upper grade, which would push class sizes even higher.
And here’s the bottom line: it’s far easier to find room in the budget for another teacher’s salary than it is to find space in a school that’s already at capacity.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲:
This is not to diminish the concerns about how best to support 5th and 8th graders during this transition. As a parent, I understand them, and I’ll address some here. But please know—if we move forward, these plans will be further developed, and parents will be included in the process.
Grade 8 would have their own designated area on the 2nd floor for their core academics and the admin is committed to creating thoughtful traffic flow and lunch schedules to keep them comfortable. They’ll also have access to clubs, activities and freshman athletics (or JV if there is no freshman option).
Fifth grade would have their own hallway. Also, I directly asked Superintendent Kidwell about recess last week and the administration agrees on it’s importance and is committed to making it happen.
No one is denying this will be a big transition, but both school administrations have been clear: it’s a manageable one, and they’re prepared to make it work for our students.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Looking back at last week’s meeting, I take responsibility for not recognizing the source of some of the frustration expressed by Ms. Field and Mr. Juckett. While the regular notification procedures for School Committee meetings were followed, they had expected additional outreach to parents given the subject matter. Unfortunately, due to an app glitch, that didn’t happen. I understand why families would have wanted more notice which is why I voted to delay the vote. At the same time, suggesting that this was done intentionally or with bad motives is both inaccurate and unproductive.
What should be a conversation about solutions has instead been diverted into speculation about ulterior motives and talk of “using children as pawns.” I want to be clear: my only goal is to do what’s best for Seekonk’s students. I’m a mom who took on this role because I care deeply about my kids’ education and the town I’ve lived in most of my life. There is no agenda to inflate numbers or to curry favor with the superintendent.
There are no easy answers here. But framing an honest discussion about what’s best for the community as something nefarious doesn’t help us move forward. What 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 help is improving communication between the Committee and the town. While I don’t believe the lack of communication was intentional, I do recognize it as an issue—and it’s one I’m committed to addressing.
𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀:
I encourage you to attend the Listening Sessions and share your thoughts. These issues are complicated, and this long post only scratches the surface of what we’re working through. At the end of the day, we’re all parents who share the same goal: doing what’s best for all the kids in Seekonk. While I may not be able to respond to every Facebook comment, I truly want to hear from you—please feel free to email me anytime at [email protected].
Thank you for reading all this. I always try to keep in mind that emotions run so high in these conversations because there’s nothing we care about more than our kids. That deep commitment is what makes these discussions so intense. So as we keep talking, I hope we can all give ourselves—and each other—a little grace.
