To the Editor,
I write as a resident and parent who is joining the chorus of voices from both Manchester and Essex who are deeply concerned about the proposed cut of the middle school principal from the school district’s budget. Under the proposed cut budget, the high school principal will be responsible for both the middle and high school. This position cut has been discussed as a “one year experiment” but given how tight the budget situation is, I fear it is unlikely to be added back. This cut would come on top of 15 positions the school district has already cut, mainly through attrition, in the past 5 years or so. It is vital this year that the School Committee pass, and the towns support, a level services budget to prevent this and further cuts.
Middle school students undergo rapid mental, emotional, and social development and have specific educational needs at that stage. The towns of Essex and Manchester funded and built a school building with an intentional structure and program to meet those needs. When the middle/ high school building was built, middle school grades 6, 7, and 8 were intentionally organized in a separate space and leadership structure from high school grades 9-12. Middle schoolers take classes within a designated pod with a faculty team devoted to their educational cohort. Middle school teachers and administrators are trained to consider the vast range of developmental differences between individual students at this stage.
In the post-COVID era, the developing needs of this age group are even greater. Rising 6th graders were in kindergarten when COVID lockdowns began in March of 2020. We have yet to see the long-term effects of how this disruption in education and daily life will affect these children as they enter adolescence. Additionally, technology and social media are changing kids’ brains and exacerbating social emotional health issues. Keeping a separate school for grades 6-8 ensures kids can get the support they need now more than ever before.
In our regional district, the middle school plays a vital role. It is in middle school where students from our towns come together to form the true MERSD community. The tone and expectations set by the principal help create a positive culture within the school walls.
Our comparable DART school districts of Hamilton-Wenham, Dover-Sherborn, and Masconomet all retain the middle school model -- in making this cut, MERSD would be an outlier.
A principal leads a school with a vision for students’ educational experiences. They oversee all school operations, including supporting teachers, creating a safe and supportive space for students, managing curriculum and instruction, analyzing data, managing facilities, and every other big or small emergency that might pop up on any given day. With this cut, the remaining principal and administration will need to add these tasks to their already full plate and do more with less.
As a parent of a fifth grader who will be entering the middle school next year, I do not want my child to enter a school with an experimental model staffed by administrators who are spread thin and teachers who lack the necessary support provided by a middle school principal.
MERSD has historically provided students with an excellent education at reasonable budget growth. Higher healthcare costs are forcing the district to decide between passing a higher “level services” budget than usual or making cuts like this. It is vital we support the level services budget recommended by the superintendent that retains the middle school principal position and allows MERSD to continue to provide a high-quality education for the kids in our communities.
