Norwell Schools Face Enrollment Shifts and Class Size Pressures Following Major Staff Cuts
NORWELL - October 20 - Norwell’s public schools are navigating a complex new reality following the elimination of more than 22 positions last year, with October enrollment data revealing both expected demographic shifts and unexpected pressures on class sizes and student support systems across all grade levels.
The Full Story
Superintendent Matthew Keegan presented the October 1 enrollment and class size report to the Norwell School Committee on October 20, revealing that overall district enrollment has decreased by approximately 21 students year-over-year. However, the data tells a more nuanced story about the consequences of last year’s budget reductions and the challenges facing the district.
At the elementary level, both the Cole and Vinal schools now have similar total enrollments after last year’s large fifth-grade class moved to the middle school. The district reduced from 25 total sections to 24 across both buildings. To address class size disparities, the Cole School maintains five sections in second grade to accommodate 90 students, which would otherwise exceed the district’s guideline of 22 students per class. However, this came at the expense of third grade, which has only three teachers for a population that exceeds the 25-student guideline. Most concerning, Cole School’s 93 kindergartners exceed the 22-student average target, though kindergarten aides provide some support.
The middle school situation reveals the most dramatic adjustments. Sixth grade enrollment surged to 195 students, up from 172 last year. Rather than allow class sizes to balloon to 24-25 students per section, the district added two sections, bringing the total to 10. The sixth-grade teachers each agreed to pick up an additional section and forego the Academic Enrichment (AE) program that traditionally helps fifth graders transition to middle school. In exchange, teachers received duty-free periods to run a WIN (What I Need) program three times per week, offering similar but less extensive support than AE previously provided.
The trade-offs became starkly apparent in the elective offerings. The district now has 62 sections of study hall serving 922 students, nearly double last year’s 443 students in 13 sections. Superintendent Keegan explained this dramatic increase reflects a lack of available elective sections for students. Music classes saw some sections grow to 38 students as the district added instrumental music sections for sixth graders. Physical education was particularly hard hit, dropping from 106 sections to 88 with only two teachers remaining—one primarily teaching health, one primarily teaching PE.
At the high school level, English class sizes dropped from an average of 7.6 sections to 6.8 as teacher Jess Johnson returned to the English department from teaching freshman seminar. That seminar is now taught by Spanish teacher Ashley Critchley. The district eliminated the Applied Technology teacher position, cutting robotics, computer repair, and engineering classes. Most significantly, no French 1 classes are offered this year, though existing French 2, 3, 4, and SUPA courses continue with partial staffing from a Spanish teacher and a Latin teacher each teaching 0.2 of French.
The analysis of “open blocks” revealed concerning trends. Last year, the high school had 1,139 open blocks, meaning roughly 285 students per term had a study period—less than half the student body. This year, that number jumped to 1,406 open blocks, or 350 per term, meaning more than half of high school students now have at least one study per term.
School committee member Christina Kane pressed for more specific information about the human impact of these changes. “I think we really have to keep talking about that as specifically as possible. What does it look like for these people that are suffering?” she asked. The superintendent acknowledged the difficulty of quantifying these impacts in the first months of school, noting “kids are resilient, people are resilient, but when we don’t have the supports over time, it will show up in some of our scores.”
The district’s comprehensive review document outlined exactly what was lost: the bridge room for social-emotional support now lacks consistent staffing, with guidance counselors pulled from college processing duties to cover it. When unstaffed, students often must go home. Reading interventions were cut in half with the loss of two literacy specialists. The high school has no physical education classes for most ninth and tenth graders, who now take only health. Elementary libraries have no dedicated library instruction time, with technology teachers now stationed in libraries primarily to help students check out books.
The elimination of building-based aides at the elementary level means no consistent coverage when teachers are absent and daily substitutes aren’t available. This prevents field trips and professional development opportunities unless substitutes can be secured well in advance. Athletic programs were spared only because Norwell High School Boosters raised funds to reinstate nine freshman teams and six JV teams that had been eliminated from the budget.
For the first time in recent years, Norwell saw more student move-outs than move-ins, a reversal of an eight-year trend. The superintendent noted that while Norwell continues attracting new families, rising housing costs mean incoming families tend to have fewer children than in the past, contradicting enrollment projection models that assumed continued growth.
On a positive note, the district’s private school enrollment continued its four-year decline, with only 173 Norwell residents attending private schools this year compared to 201 in 2023. The district now serves 89.79 percent of Norwell resident students, up from 89.54 percent last year and recovering from a low of approximately 88 percent during the COVID years.
The high school outreach portion of the meeting celebrated significant student achievements, including National Merit Scholarship commended students and the thriving Model UN club in only its second year. President Sofia DiFrisco told the committee, “Model UN is about more than just public speaking. It’s about leadership, empathy, and the art of human communication.” The club has attended four conferences in 12 months, with membership growing substantially.
Advanced Placement results showed the class of 2025 maintaining strong performance with 86.5 percent of students scoring 3 or higher on AP exams, just slightly below the previous year’s 87 percent. Principal Marc Bender noted this was “remarkable” given the relatively open prerequisites for AP enrollment. However, he acknowledged the class of 2025 SAT scores were not as strong as the record-setting class of 2024.
MCAS results presented by Director of Teaching, Learning and Technology Meredith Erickson showed mixed outcomes. The district exceeded pre-pandemic achievement levels in certain grades, particularly fourth grade for English language arts and math, and fifth grade for science. However, middle school results declined in some areas, which Erickson attributed partly to those students being in first, second, and third grade during COVID when early literacy and numeracy skills are developed. All Norwell schools received accountability ratings of either “meeting or exceeding targets” or making “substantial progress toward targets,” with no schools requiring state assistance or intervention.
The district is focusing this year on implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as its primary professional development initiative and refining the Norwell Tiered System of Support (NTSS) to provide coherent, consistent support for struggling learners. However, committee member Kane questioned how these ambitious support systems could be implemented effectively given the significant reduction in support staff. Superintendent Keegan explained that the strategic plan’s first-year emphasis on documenting existing NTSS practices would help identify gaps, though he acknowledged the loss of intervention capacity.
The Cole School showed a particularly impressive 13 percent increase in its accountability rating from 64 percent to 76 percent year-over-year, placing it in the 84th percentile among all Massachusetts elementary schools. Vinal Elementary remains in the 90th percentile statewide, though it dropped from 100 percent of targets met to 83 percent—a phenomenon Erickson explained often occurs after perfect years when targets are set higher.
Why It Matters
The October enrollment report reveals that last year’s budget cuts are having measurable impacts on daily school experiences for Norwell students. With study halls nearly doubled at the middle school, reduced course offerings at the high school, larger class sizes at the elementary level, and eliminated support positions across the district, the educational program has contracted even as academic results remain strong. For families considering whether to support future budget increases, this data provides concrete evidence of what has been lost and what remains at risk. The district’s ability to maintain its competitive position—retaining nearly 90 percent of resident students and placing schools in the top percentiles statewide—may be increasingly difficult without restored funding for support staff, interventionists, and elective programming. Parents of students requiring additional academic or social-emotional support, those hoping for robust foreign language options, and families valuing diverse elective opportunities are most immediately affected by these changes.
Meeting Minutes
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: To approve the consent agenda including minutes of September 15, 2025, accounts payable and refund warrants, and international excursion to France and Belgium April 14-24, 2027. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:59:22)
Motion: To approve policy LBA (CTE programs and affiliate school) for second and final reading. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:00:21)
Motion: To approve policy IKFB (competency determination requirement) for first reading. Outcome: Approved for first reading. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:07:45)
Motion: To approve amendment to 2025-2026 school committee meeting schedule changing January meeting to January 26. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:08:23)
Motion: To approve cooperative waiver for Norwell and Cohasset gymnastics team to include Notre Dame Academy gymnastics team commencing winter 2025-2026. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:09:23)
Motion: To move agenda item 6.6 (student government representative) to immediately follow high school outreach. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 0:53:47)
Public Comment
No public comment period was held during this meeting.
What’s Next
The district will bring policy IKFB regarding competency determination requirements back for second reading in November. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation visit is scheduled for November 18-19 at the high school. The high school will hold its homecoming football game and dance this week. Norwell High School Boosters president Kristen Poulin announced plans to pursue funding for bathroom facilities at the Clipper Athletic Complex and will return to the committee with specific proposals after the RFP process. The South Shore Education Collaborative’s new executive director will attend the November school committee meeting. The district continues working on its FY27 budget development process according to the approved timeline.