Medford outlines middle school lottery, exemptions and timeline for incoming sixth graders

"My name is Suzanne Galusi. I'm the interim superintendent. I thank you very much for joining us tonight so we can discuss the middle school lottery assignment and process," said Suzanne Galusi, interim superintendent of Medford Public Schools, at a virtual information session about the district's middle-school assignment process.

The district described a lottery system designed to balance enrollment between Andrews Middle School and McGlynn Middle School and to preserve seats for students who require particular programs. Under the policy explained at the meeting, roughly half of the fifth-grade students from each elementary school will be assigned to Andrews and half to McGlynn, with a set of exemptions and separate lotteries to protect students' program needs and to maintain equity.

Galusi said the district maintains four key exemptions from the general lottery: students who require English learner (EL) services; students with IEPs that require a specialized program (these students are assigned to the school that houses that program); students on IEPs not tied to a specialized program (who enter a separate IEP lottery to ensure even distribution); and sibling preference for eligible fifth-grade students with a current sibling in grade 6 or 7. "The entire English learner program is housed at the McGlynn Middle School," Galusi said, and students needing those services are assigned there rather than included in the general draw.

Galusi gave…