Winchester Parents Make Decision on School Choice

Lynch parents made their decision .

According to Superintendent William McAlduff, and heading to different schools in the district.

McAlduff said that the school district received 24 initial No Child Left Behind (NCLB) School Choice requests. After the School Department answered clarification questions from some of the parents who had submitted forms, 20 students remained on the NCLB School Choice Request List for assignment. 

Twelve students accepted the assignment, seven decided to remain at Lynch and one is on hold, McAlduff said. 

Lynch parents

The MCAS results were released earlier this fall and identified the Lynch School for

Since is a Title I school and a school that needs improvement,

Lynch parents had the option to transfer their children to , or .

"The Superintendent working with School Principals, reviewed the current enrollment and class size at each of the receiving schools, and determined the specific number of seats that were available for assignment in each classroom,” McAlduff said. “Some classrooms had seats available for assignment and some did not. The 20 students were assigned to a new school based on how their first, second, or third choice of schools aligned with seat availability.” 

Of the 12 students whose parents/guardians accepted assignments:

Four students have been assigned to Lincoln: Grade One - 3 students; Grade Two – 1 student;  

Six students have been assigned to Muraco: Kindergarten – 2 students; Grade One – 2 students; Grade Four -2 students

Two students have been assigned to V-O:Grade One – 1 student; Grade Three -1 student

“The number one goal of the assignment process was to maintain the School Committee’s class size guidelines of 18-20 students for Grades K-2 or 20-22 students for Grades 3-5,” McAlduff said. “Given the 12 assignments, not one of the 12 assignments caused any of the receiving classroom enrollments to exceed 20 students.” 

Students will start at their new school on Monday, Jan. 9.