Littleton Ends 35-Year Transitional Kindergarten Program, Adds Seventh Kindergarten Class

LITTLETON — March 27, 2025 — Littleton School Committee backs end of 35-year transitional kindergarten program at Shaker Lane School. The committee heard Thursday from Shaker Lane Principal Justin McCarthy and Superintendent Kelly Clunchy that this year's kindergarten team recommended only 13 students for the transitional program — the lowest figure in eight years — and that historical family declination rates would have left the class with as few as eight or nine students. The transitional teacher position will be converted to a seventh standard kindergarten classroom effective August 26, 2025, with first-grade class sizes projected to rise by only one or two students per room. Clunchy defended the move on research grounds: "If you're going to work on skill sets for students, they need to be with peers that have acquired those skill sets." Business Manager Steve Martin separately confirmed the district is managing two unplanned equipment failures — a broken high school dishwasher estimated at $30,000 to $35,000 and a hot water heater repair at $25,000 — within existing budget efficiencies, and announced that the town received $108,175 in Green Communities grant funding for school LED lighting and weatherization upgrades.