The $9.8M question: What has been done to move the 6th grade's transition into JHWMS?

Plans have been acted on to move students from the sixth grade of Lincoln, Radcliffe, Washington, Yantacaw, and Spring Garden to John H. Walker Middle School after years of discussion and planning. With about 625 students already occupying JHWMS in grades 7 and 8, the addition of around 300 sixth graders from the five elementary buildings means the current layout of the middle school isn't cutting it, and serious renovations had been made to accommodate them. 

The plan, otherwise known as the K−5 realignment, had been an expensive project. With discussions starting in 2017, it was originally estimated to be a $68.9M dollar project. More recently, through public discussions and board meetings, the district had first focused on a separate project coming up to $9.8M, it focused on the renovation of a building at 777 Bloomfield Ave that is currently housing the Pre-K program, the students who were formerly at JHWMS. 

Construction has also been done in the media center, with four classrooms added for the incoming sixth grade. The cost was unknown, but it had been funded by bond measures. Though it had still been a great expense, $9.8M is a great contrast to the originally planned $68.9M.

The original project idea, involving the middle school expansions, would have been significantly more expensive than their current plan. The original project would have “...cost taxpayers upward of $80 million,” said Nutley Finance Commissioner Tom Evans in an article on Tap Into Nutley. That upgrade would have updated four schools, including the middle school that would have instead had a two story wing added for the 6th grade to occupy. 

In 2020, Nutley’s Administration’s plans to utilize space from an adjacent property (formerly Nutley Bike Shop) fell through due to a complex mix of zoning, environmental assessments, and unanticipated acquisition costs, making an on-site, vertical expansion the most financially and logistically sound approach. These changes had been made to lower the burden placed upon tax payers in Nutley. It had instead been covered by lease payments from the Board of Education. 

The principal of John H Walker Middle school, Joseph Materia, said, “My expectation regarding the realignment is that students will be more prepared for high school after spending three years in middle school. Currently, we only have the students with us for two years. By having the sixth graders with us it allows the middle school to better meet the needs of middle level learners.” By grouping the sixth grade with the seventh and eighth grades, the district aims to better facilitate the transition from elementary to high school. This structure will allow sixth graders to access resources often unavailable at the elementary level, such as honor courses, a more involved daily schedule (prepping them for highschool), and the opportunity of diverse electives.

With the large group of incoming students, people have begun to question what the situation will be with teachers. The school district plans to hire up to six new certified teachers, while elementary staff who currently teach sixth grade will be offered the opportunity to move up to the middle school.

After years of planning and prep, Nutley school district has finally settled down with plans for the K-5 realignment. The brand new construction and remodeling of the media center have been finished, but have yet to be used. In the upcoming 2026 school year the new space will be used for the housing of the 6th grade. 

Students across the elementary schools have mixed feelings about the changes. Brandon Molinari from Radcliffe elementary school says “I think it's pretty cool. Middle school seems fun.” He expresses excitement for joining the older kids. Many other sixth graders share this enthusiasm about joining the Middle School earlier than they would have before. 

Parents of elementary school students seem to also be excited, but also have some worries with the new developments. Gigi Molinari, Brandon's mother, said  "It'll definitely help with the divide between the sixth and other grades of the elementary school, so I think that's nice, though I am nervous about how they’ll get along with the bigger kids.” In the elementary schools it was thought that there was a big maturity difference, so putting Nutley's sixth grade in the middle school will hopefully help with that. Though, it's a concern among parents that the sixth graders might not quite merge well with the older grades of 7th and 8th.

After the years of planning that went into it, the Nutley school district hopes to have a graceful transition of the sixth grade into the middle school for the 2026 school year. With the major changes made structurally, younger students are now exposed to greater academic resources earlier. This is with the support of the media center remodeling, movement of Nutley's preschool classrooms,  and the hiring of new staff. While across children and their parents there are mixed feelings, significant progress is being made.