Updating School Attendance Zones

Update

Communication to families switching school attendance zones

On Jan. 18, Superintendent Ben Lummis reached out to families at Beeman Elementary School and Plum Cove Elementary School who will be switching school attendance zones starting in the fall of 2023.

Families can choose to keep any students currently attending grades K through 4 at their current elementary school. The other option available to families is to request that their children move to the new school for which their residence is zoned.

This communication from the Gloucester Public Schools begins an extensive outreach process to families who live on one of the streets that is switching school attendance zones, including:


School Committee updates K-5 school attendance zones

On Oct. 26, the School Committee unanimously approved a limited number of changes to Gloucester’s K-5 school attendance zones. The update creates more easily understandable geographic zones.

 

School attendance zones are the geographic boundaries that determine which elementary school a student will attend based on where they live. 

 

School Committee policy calls for updating school attendance zones when a new school opens. The planned merger of East Gloucester Elementary School and Veterans Memorial Elementary School into one new school next year served as the impetus for adjusting the current, disjointed school attendance zones that can result in students from the same neighborhood attending different elementary schools.

 

Superintendent Ben Lummis proposed the revised attendance zones following a process that included mapping recent births, assessing socio-economic levels across schools, considering anticipated housing development, and analyzing recent enrollment. 

 

Gloucester Public Schools also met with Parent Teacher Organizations at Beeman and Plum Cove, reached out to families via email and phone calls, and gathered input through an online form. Community members provided public comment during three School Committee meetings including a public hearing.  

 

Based on the input from families, the School Committee modified Superintendent’s Lummis’ recommendation and adopted a five-year transition to fully implement the new zones. The five-year transition period will allow all students who currently attend an elementary school now to stay in their current schools if they choose to. 


As long as there is room in their newly zoned school, families will be able to transition to that school as soon as Fall 2023. The plan calls for all students who are new to a school to attend the school for which their street is zoned. 


Bus transportation will continue to be provided during the five-year transition period to students who want to remain in their current school and live on streets that are switching elementary school attendance zones. 

 

View the Map of the New Zones 

Click on the colorful map to see the limited number of changes. 

View the Listing of the Streets Changing School Zones - A small number of streets are impacted at Plum Cove, Beeman, and EGS/Vets.

View the Slideshow - Superintendent Lummis gave an updated presentation on the recommended changes at the Oct. 12  School Committee public hearing

The revised boundaries create more sensible school attendance zones that are geographically contiguous. Click the map above for a look at the highlighted changes. 

Criteria for Updating School Attendance Zones 

On June 8, 2022, the Superintendent Lummis presented the process and criteria for updating the Elementary School Attendance Zones. The complete process as developed by the district's leadership can be reviewed here. Below are the criteria used when developing the current recommended updates to Elementary School Zones.