{"id":9258,"date":"2026-04-04T02:15:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/?p=9258"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:20:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T13:20:05","slug":"ab-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/ab-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"AB Forward Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here is the most recent AB Forward information shared by the district:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The School Committee has officially adopted&nbsp;<strong>Scenario 7<\/strong>&nbsp;as our new elementary school geographic boundary map. These new boundaries will go into effect on&nbsp;<strong>July 1, 2026<\/strong>. This plan was selected to better balance student enrollment and ensure that every school in our district has the resources and space needed to provide a high-quality education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can view the new boundaries and search for your specific address using our interactive map here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dillingerrad.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/instant\/reporter\/index.html?appid=ee774c476a814370b3aaf5b9ca985aba\"><strong>ABRSD Geographic School Zones<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Enrollment Policy and &#8220;Flex Zones&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To maintain balanced class sizes over time, the district is introducing&nbsp;<strong>Flex Zones<\/strong>. These are specific geographic areas where new students may be assigned to one of two schools based on where space is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Purpose:<\/strong>&nbsp;Flex Zones allow the district to manage enrollment year-round and avoid overcrowding at any single school.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Placement:<\/strong>&nbsp;Every home in a Flex Zone has a &#8220;geographic default&#8221; school. If a change is needed to balance class sizes, the district will first look for families who volunteer to move to the alternate school.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Siblings:<\/strong>&nbsp;The district remains committed to keeping siblings together. Siblings will not be separated unless a parent specifically requests it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional details about the Flex Zone Logistics are available on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abschools.org\/read-the-plan\"><strong>AB Forward Website<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Grandfathering for Current Students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We understand that stability is important for our students. The Committee has approved a grandfathering plan to minimize disruption:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Eligible Students:<\/strong>&nbsp;1. Acton students currently attending Blanchard and 2. Students in the Scenario 7 Expanded Blanchard zone will be grandfathered into their current schools.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scope:<\/strong>&nbsp;This applies to students currently enrolled in grades K-5 during the 2025-26 school year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>New Students:<\/strong>&nbsp;Grandfathering does not apply to incoming Kindergarteners or new students registering after June 30, 2026. These students will be assigned based on the new geographic maps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Note for Impacted Families:<\/strong>&nbsp;Families who fall into these grandfathered groups will receive a separate, direct email from the district with specific details regarding their student\u2019s placement.&nbsp;<strong>Please look for this follow-up communication, as you will need to respond to that email by Thursday, April 16th.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Extraordinary Circumstances<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We recognize that some families may face unique or extraordinary circumstances they believe the district should consider while finalizing school placements. To ensure a fair and consistent process, we have provided a guide outlining what may qualify as an extraordinary circumstance and instructions on how to submit a formal request for consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Detailed information about submitting an Extraordinary Circumstances Request can be found on the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abschools.org\/read-the-plan\"><strong>AB Forward Website<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;and a specific form will be sent to you through ParentSquare<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All elementary families will receive a link in ParentSquare to submit a request for extraordinary consideration if needed. \u00a0Requests are due by May 1st and will be processed by June 1st.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We are committed to a transparent and supportive transition. We have a&nbsp;<strong>family webinar scheduled for Tuesday, April 14<\/strong><strong><sup>th<\/sup><\/strong>&nbsp;and will provide additional updates at that time. &nbsp;A webinar link will be sent to families on Tuesday afternoon. &nbsp;If you would like to submit a question in advance of the webinar for our consideration, you can use the link below. &nbsp;In the interest of time during the webinar, we will be focused on questions related to implementation of the reorganization. &nbsp;We recognize some families may have questions or concerns regarding the process of arriving at this decision and those questions may be directed to either the Superintendent or School Committee directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/bxvfb7GfyTRJ211U9\">Submit a Question for the April 14th Webinar<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is the most recent AB Forward information shared by the district: The School Committee&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9258"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9578,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9258\/revisions\/9578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merriampto.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}