Wilmington School Committee Votes to Reject School Choice for 2026-2027

NORTH ANDOVER -- May 14, 2026, Wilmington School Committee unanimously rejects school choice and hears sweeping middle school schedule overhaul. The committee voted 6-0 at its May 14 meeting not to participate in Massachusetts school choice for the 2026-2027 year, with member Dr. McCauldy citing the state's $5,000 per-student reimbursement rate as "almost a non-starter." The main event was a roughly hour-long presentation by Wilmington Middle School Principal Brian Kyra, reading teacher Beth Baraby, and world language teacher Katia De Stefano on a plan to replace the 45-to-50-minute daily WIN intervention block with a 30-minute structure called PAUSE, available to all staff rather than only core subject teachers; survey data showed 93.3 percent of staff and 58 percent of students say WIN is currently not meeting student needs. The redesign also adds a fifth core subject for all grade levels, with sixth graders receiving one semester each of general reading and exploratory world language, and moves special education learning center time back into the unified arts rotation. Superintendent David Thompson, crediting his own history launching a similar "Power Block" model in 2008, called the proposal "probably the second step of a 10-step process." No vote was taken on the schedule; implementation is planned for fall 2026 as a pilot, with a committee follow-up expected in January 2027.