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Norwich to end middle-school magnet designations, hire redistricting consultant for school consolidation
Summary
District will require incoming sixth-graders to attend assigned zone middle schools starting 2025–26 and hired a redistricting consultant to redraw boundaries for a planned reduction from seven to four schools.
The Norwich Board of Education was told Jan. 14 that the district will stop using magnet designations at its middle schools and will require incoming sixth-graders to attend their zone middle school beginning with the 2025–26 school year.
Acting Superintendent Susan Lazaro told the board that parents will receive a letter and an online map showing which students will attend Kelly Middle School or Teachers Memorial Global Studies Middle School based on residential address. Students who already have siblings at a school may remain with their siblings if their family completes an online form sent via ParentSquare, Lazaro said. “So the middle schools will no longer be considered magnet schools … starting the 25–26 school year,” Lazaro said.
The administration said curriculum differences tied to the prior magnet labels (Kelly known for STEAM and Teachers for Global Studies) will be removed; both schools will offer the same curriculum. The board was also told that the building committee has hired a redistricting consultant — the same demography expert who prepared a prior demographic report used for state reimbursement calculations — to redraw attendance boundaries as the district plans to consolidate from seven schools to four.
Administrators said the consultant contract was signed the previous day and that additional updates will follow as the district develops new zones tied to the planned building changes. Board members asked for further details and were told more information will be provided as the redistricting process proceeds.
