East Longmeadow School Committee Approves Spring MIAA Waivers, Debates Grade Realignment

EAST LONGMEADOW -- March 2, 2026, East Longmeadow School Committee opens debate on whether a 3-to-5 elementary school split is driving inequitable outcomes across the district. Committee member Amy Denta raised the question at the March 2 meeting, citing data showing Mountain View Elementary's low-income student rate at 18 percent versus Maple Shade's 34.1 percent, and a chronic absenteeism gap of roughly 3.4-4 percent at Mountain View against 7.7 percent at Maple Shade. Denta sketched a possible realignment, pre-K through grade 1 at Metabrook, grades 2-3 at Mountain View, and grades 4-5 at Maple Shade, and noted that special education director Jenny Sullivan believes the change could benefit students with specialized programming needs who are currently declining placement at Maple Shade to stay at Mountain View. The committee agreed no decision is imminent and voted 5-0 to approve eighth-grade MIAA JV waivers for girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, and softball, with past usage of the waivers at or near zero for most sports.