Middle school model returning to Broadalbin-Perth in September 2026

After eight months of research, conversations with stakeholders, and deliberations, Broadalbin-Perth Superintendent of Schools Stephen Tomlinson announced today that students in grades 6-8 will attend a middle school starting in September 2026. The middle school will be located on the secondary campus in Broadalbin in the area currently occupied by the junior high school and formerly occupied by The Learning Community.

The study that this decision came out of started in September 2024 and was led by Director of Curriculum and Instruction Terry LaFountain and Director of Special Education and Intervention Services Bradley Strait, with support from Director of Communications Michele Kelley. The study first engaged faculty and staff, and later parents and other community members, in discussions around the academic, social, and emotional needs of “middle-level learners” – children typically defined as those in grades 6-8.

“Early adolescents are undergoing significant physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development, and they require a unique approach to education that addresses their specific needs,” Tomlinson said. “With sixth graders part of the elementary school and seventh and eighth graders part of the secondary school, my goal in commissioning this study was to ask some critical questions: Are we doing everything we can to support our students during this transitional time in their lives? Can the current model provide them with what they need, or should we be looking at a different model?”

Prior to the 2020 reorganization of the district’s schools into the current PK-6 elementary school and grades 7-12 junior/senior high school, Broadalbin-Perth educated students in a pre-K through grade 2 primary school called The Learning Community, a grades 3-5 intermediate school, a grades 6-8 middle school, and a grades 9-12 high school. Under that configuration, the primary school was located on the Broadalbin campus with the high school, and the intermediate and middle schools were co-located at the Perth campus.

When the district initially began exploring this possibility, Tomlinson intended for any resulting change to take effect for the start of the 2025-26 school year. However, in response to concerns voiced by parent members of a stakeholder group, Tomlinson pushed the timeline a year.

“Over the next 18 months, we are going to work with our faculty, staff, and community to develop a supportive, nurturing, and academically stimulating middle school environment that will welcome our grades 6-8 learners with open arms in September 2026,” Tomlinson said. 

Tomlinson said that this work will include identifying teachers and staff who will be a part of the new middle school and hiring a principal to lead the middle school.

Members of the community interested in being part of the development of the new Broadalbin-Perth Middle School should contact LaFountain at lafountaint@bpcsd.org.