Two elementary schools in Boston's Roslindale neighborhood are merging, but parents and teachers are frustrated by plans to move students around during the school year.
The Philbrick School and the Sumner School will join to become a single school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, with a new setting in the former Washington Irving School on Cummins Highway.
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Fifth- and sixth-graders from Sumner have already moved to the Irving building, but it is undergoing a massive renovation project to be ready for everyone in fall of 2025.
Those students will now move out, with some relocating to the Roslindale Community Center in late January.
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In an email to parents, school officials say the general contractor has shared that the renovation project is at risk of significant timeline delays, and the students have to go elsewhere so that renovations can move more quickly.
"Are people going to be buzzed in? Are they going to sign in? Is there going to be a secretary here from BPS?" asked Jennifer Dines, a Boston Public Schools teacher and parent who lives in Roslindale.
She's concerned about safety and security, worried about the public having access to the community center while school is also operating inside.
"They haven't even said it's going to be secured," said Dines. "They said nothing about that, just said, 'Oh, there's going to be this transition.' I saw nothing in that email that this is how we're going to keep children safe and secure."
"Due to construction that can be, at times, disruptive for teachers and students and in an effort to open the renovated building as close to on schedule as possible, it is in the best interest of our students in grades 5 and 6 to temporarily relocate," Boston Public Schools said in a statement. "The three relocated classrooms in the BCYF Roslindale Community Center will be in a single, secure area with restricted access, which will allow them to continue their learning."
A community meeting is scheduled to take place after the holidays but before the relocation. It'll be a chance for parents to learn more about the move and how it'll work.
"Moving students and educators mid-year is disruptive to the learning process," said Erik Berg, president of the Boston Teachers Union. "It's really not ideal, and we think this whole thing could have been avoided with adequate prior planning."
