Page 6 MIDDLE SCHOOL | FROM Page 1 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, JAnuARy 16, 2026 Superintendent Dr. Dianne stressed the administration’s desire to approach any change collaboratively. “(The lottery) has served a purSchool Committee members Aisha Milbury-Ellis, Anthony Caggiano, and John Kingston, during Monday’s meeting. pose, but there’s a new school of thought in re-shifting back to neighborhood schools,” Keefe said. “Our model is to do things with you, not to you. Change is hard, and we want to make sure families understand what’s being considered and why.” Kelly explained that Revere’s middle school lottery was introduced in 2010, shortly after new school buildings opened. At the time, demand for Rumney Marsh Academy and Susan B. Anthony Middle School far outpaced interest in Garfield Middle School, creating enrollment imbalances that resulted in problems with staffing, class sizes, and resource allocation. According to district data shared at the meeting, family preferences have fluctuated significantly over the past five years. In some years, fewer than 20 percent of families selected Garfield as their first choice, while more than half selected Rumney Marsh. Without a lottery, officials said, those disparities would result in overcrowded classrooms at one school and under-enrollment at another. “On average, Garfield would Caregivers ask questions during the meeting’s Q&A session with school leaders. have fewer than 400 students, Rumney Marsh close to 700, and Susan B. Anthony somewhere in between,” Kelly said. “That’s not educationally sound, and it creates class sizes that are simply too large for effective learning.” District leaders noted that the lottery has succeeded in balancing enrollments over the last many years. Over the past five years, Over 100 families, caregivers, students, and staff attended the Monday evening informational meeting. APARTMENTS FOR RENT www.mastrocola.com Established 1978 Mid-grade Regular 2.64 3.24 3.35 $3.37 Full Service ULS $2.999 Order online at angelosoil.com Kerosene Now Available! roughly 89% of students received their first or second choice of middle schools. Last school year (2024-2025), 92% received their first or second choice of middle schools, with 87% receiving their first choice and 5% receiving their second choice. Still, over that same fiveyear timespan, 11% of students were assigned to the school they ranked last—a point Kelly said remains a major source of stress for families. Dr. Kelly outlined two primary reasons the School Committee is revisiting middle school placement: family concerns and rising transportation costs. Kelly explained that some parents have repeatedly contacted city and school leaders about the anxiety caused by the lottery process, while district transportation expenses have nearly doubled in recent years, climbing from approximately $6—7 million to nearly $13 million annually. Under the current system, many students attend schools far from their homes, requiring yellow bus or MBTA transportation. Students living in neighborhoods such as Beachmont, Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly during Monday night’s meeting to discuss a potential overhaul of how students are assigned to the city’s three middle schools. (Courtesy photos) Point of Pines, or Oak Island may be bused across the city depending on lottery outcomes. “The cost is enormous, and it’s not sustainable,” Kelly said. “We also have to consider the impact on families and students who are traveling long distances when a school is much closer to home.” City Planner Tom Skwierawski, who worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), presented three neighborhood-based middle school scenarios developed over several months of analysis. The options aim to assign students based primarily on where they live while maintaining balance across demographic factors such as income, race, multilingual learner status, and special education needs. Skwierawski said planners considered both natural and artificial boundaries when drawing proposed attendance zones, including hills, major roadways, and traffic patterns. Roads such as Route 16, Route 1A, and Route 60 were treated as significant barriers due to safety and walkability concerns. “We weren’t just drawing districts that looked good on a map,” Skwierawski said. “We were thinking critically about how families actually move through the city and how students would get to school safely.” Under all three neighborhood options, the number of students living more than two miles from their assigned school would drop dramatically—from more than 400 under the current lottery model to fewer than 100. At the same time, the number of students living within one mile of their school would more than double, significantly reducing the need for busing. District leaders emphasized that specialized special eduMayor Patrick Keefe said there’s been an appetite in the city to eliminate the district’s middle school lottery system for some time. cation programs would continue to operate at designated schools regardless of the placement model. Students whose Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) require specific services—such as the ASCEND program housed at Garfield— would still be assigned accordingly, Dr. Kelly said. Current demographic data shows relatively even distributions across schools for low-income status, multilingual learners, and students with 504 plans, though Rumney Marsh currently enrolls a higher percentage of students with IEPs due to the concentration of specialized programs there. Skwierawski noted that MAPC also analyzed projected enrollments several years into the future, accounting for population trends and major housing developments. Despite continued residential construction in Revere, overall student enrollment has declined since peaking around 2016—a trend consistent across much of Massachusetts. Kelly summarized the benefits and drawbacks of both systems. The lottery promotes citywide connections among students and helps balance enrollment, but increases transportation costs and creates anxiety for families. Neighborhood schools offer proximity, continuity, and reduced busing, but may limit cross-city interactions and require more frequent staffing adjustments to address enrollment shifts. “There’s no perfect solution,” Kelly said. “We promise that regardless of the model, all students will have what they need. The challenge is figuring out how best to get there.” During a lengthy questionand-answer session, parents MIDDLE SCHOOL | SEE Page 7 FLEET CARD Check Out Our LOW PRICES!
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