Enrollment Continues to Drop; Ideal School Size Remains Steady

Based on information distributed this week to the community, feedback is sought on the new elementary school proposal that was recently discussed with Board of Selectmen, and will be discussed with Medfield School Committee at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022.

The feedback form can be found here. Deadline for comments is 12 p.m., Sept. 12.

The proposal includes a desire for a possible change in grade-level configurations (including consolidation); a "unified setting of at least two elementary schools" (formerly called a "campus setting"); non-grade-specific learning spaces and infrastructure for special education, library media, music, art and other subjects/needs; the school to serve as a community resource; and the ability to meet long-term energy/sustainability goals.

Included with the application shared with selectmen was a 2018 report providing school enrollment projections, even though more recent data was received in March 2022. (More about enrollment below.)

Questions to Consider

As parents and the community at large assess the proposed new elementary school application and provide feedback, key questions that might be considered include:

1. What should be the maximum size of an elementary school? Considering different scenarios and based on current enrollment numbers, adding one extra grade to an existing elementary school would put it in opposition to aggregated research that shows optimal school school size is 300-400 students for best educational outcomes. For example, using current enrollment numbers, adding 3rd grade to 4th and 5th grade would result in a Medfield school that is about 594 students; adding 2nd grade to grades PreK-1 would result in an estimated 600-student school. (Medfield School Committee currently has a class-size policy, but not a school-size policy.)

2. As overall Medfield Public School enrollment continues to show a downward trend, how can the town employ maximum flexibility to make best use of all its existing facilities? This 2012 Patch article by Town Historian Richard DeSorgher provides insight on how the district has handled fluctuating enrollments in the past. Most notably, under two different superintendents, a School Reorganization Committee was formed to study possible consolidation of elementary school buildings. While the town currently has a comprehensive facility assessment document with information on building conditions, Medfield does not have a master facility-use plan like Newton that provides a road map for how town and school building use might evolve over time.

3. How do you feel about keeping a grade 4-5 school in the downtown area? Massachusetts School Building Authority statutes state, "To the extent feasible, the site selected shall be proximate to other facilities such as libraries, museums, parks, natural resources, nature study areas, and businesses, which would enhance the proposed educational program." When schools are located in close proximity to densely populated neighborhoods (such as those associated with town centers), students are more likely to walk and/or bike to school compared to students attending a school farther away.

4. What do "long-term energy and sustainability goals" in the application include? Are the goals only about energy conservation, or do they also include protection of open space and water resources? The current drought has brought attention to concerning low levels of the Charles River and Neponset River, which feed the groundwater that supplies Medfield town wells. MSBA statutes call for school sites to be "free from noxious pollution or contamination, and should be selected to avoid flood plain, wetlands or other environmentally sensitive areas." Research has shown that development in a sensitive watershed area can have long-term detrimental effects on water resources.

A Look at New Enrollment Numbers

In response to a public records request, the most recent Medfield Public School enrollment reports were provided that show:

• Total K-12 district enrollment continues on a downward trend from 2,811 students in 2011-12 to 2,483 students in 2021-22 -- nearly a 12% difference based on a decline of 328 students over the 10-year period.

• When comparing current 2022-23 enrollment of 2,470 to the Medfield Public School peak of 3,099 students in 2004-05, the resulting decline is even greater at more than 20%.

• Kindergarten enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is 26 students lower than last year (171 currently vs. 197 for 2021-22), while 1st grade is up 13 students.

• Grades 2-5 enrollments have remained relatively stable when 2022-23 is compared to the previous year.

• Blake Middle School total enrollment has increased by about 13 students for the 2022-23 school year, while Medfield High School enrollment has decreased by about 11 students. Over the next three years, a 44-student increase is predicted in grades 6-8, while the high school is predicted to drop by 63 students.

While the 2020 pandemic caused large public school enrollment drops across the country (especially in kindergarten), overall school enrollment in Medfield (and in other districts) had been dropping prior to the 2020-21 school year.

Parents and other community members submitting feedback on the school committee application for a new school are encouraged to take the latest enrollment data, educational research and prior cost estimates into account.

A grade 3-5 reconfiguration proposal as part of the original school project was voted down by Medfield School Committee in 2020 due to the cost impact of an estimated $11 to 16 million extra (based on official cost estimator report). At the time, Massachusetts School Building Authority also made it clear that costs related to reconfiguring other schools as a result of the Dale Street School project would not be reimbursed by MSBA.

(Current enrollment data was provided by the district as of Aug. 24, 2022; historical enrollment data is based on a March 21, 2022 report issued by New England School Development Council, as well as MA DESE. The chart shown in this article also compares projected enrollment to actual enrollment.)