Superintendent Letter re: Grade Span Reconfiguration

Dear Abington School District Families,

At last night’s meeting of the Board of School Directors, Abington School District administration presented plans for the implementation of our Grade Span Reconfiguration at the secondary level–beginning in September 2022–which is timed to the completion of the Additions and Renovations Project at Abington Senior High School. 

A resource site is currently being created for our ASD families with more information, and I provide to you below some key details:

What is the ASD Grade Span Reconfiguration?

Starting in the 2022-2023 school year, Abington School District’s nine schools will be reconfigured in regard to the grades they serve. 

• As a result of the expanded Abington Senior High School, the building will now accommodate grades 9-12 (currently ASHS serves grades 10-12).
• With grade 9 moving up a building, Abington Junior High School will now serve grades 6-8 (currently AJHS serves grades 7-9).
• To respond to the District’s projected enrollment growth, much-needed classroom space will now be available in all seven ASD elementary schools, which will now be designated for grades K-5 (currently the elementary schools are K-6).

The following infographic illustrates these changes. 

Who will be impacted by the ASD Grade Span Reconfiguration?

• This reconfiguration applies to all nine Abington School District schools.
• The transition will more immediately impact students in the Classes of 2023-2029 (grades 5 and above, with the exception of current seniors).
• Students currently in grades 4 or lower (Classes of 2030 and beyond) will follow the reconfigured format throughout the remainder of their time in Abington School District.
• A select number of teachers and staff will also be impacted. The Office of Human Resources is working to shift positions accordingly, which will mainly involve moving some faculty from the elementary to secondary level in accordance with their certifications, as well as, teachers from the Junior High to the Senior High. 

How did Abington School District plan for this reconfiguration?

Plans for the reconfiguration have been ongoing since the 2017-2018 school year when a Superintendent’s Committee regarding Secondary Programming for Reconfigured Grade Spans was formed with two subcommittees–for middle school and high school. An elementary subcommittee was later formed, all of which have included input from key stakeholder groups: administrators, teachers and staff, Board members, students, parents/guardians and community members. 

What is the timeline for this transition?

While efforts to plan for the ASD Grade Span Reconfiguration have been ongoing since the 2017-2018 school year–with various proposals and recommendations presented to the Board of School Directors over that time–administrators, teachers and staff at all levels of the District will be working with families impacted by the reconfiguration over the next year to ensure a smooth transition. 

The ASD Grade Span Reconfiguration will go into effect immediately at the start of the 2022-2023 school year (meaning the Class of 2029 will report to Abington Junior High School on the first day of school in September 2022 and the Class of 2026 will report to Abington Senior High School). 

What are the next steps?

• Last night’s presentation included plans from the secondary subcommittees. The elementary subcommittee will present their plans at the next meeting of the Board of School Directors on October 12, 2021.
• In addition, please save the date for the December 1, 2021, meeting of the Abington School District Parent Council, at which administrators will share a presentation regarding the ASD Grade Span Reconfiguration and will be available to answer questions. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Abington Senior High School. 

While I know these changes may bring a lot of questions from the families immediately impacted by the reconfiguration, please know that our subcommittees are working diligently on numerous resource materials, parent/guardian informational events, celebratory rites of passage for students, and other initiatives to make the transition from this school year to the next as seamless as possible for our students. Please keep an eye out for additional information in the months ahead. 

I am proud to be part of such a pivotal time in our school district and look forward to seeing our community’s years of planning come to fruition in September 2022! 

Regards,

Jeffrey S. Fecher, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools