Northampton Area School District families can now view the updated boundaries to see which elementary school their children will attend next school year as the district’s realignment goes into effect for the 2026-27 school year.
With Franklin and Moore elementary schools closing and the new East Allen Elementary set to open, approximately 2,200 students will be sorted into the new boundaries and staff will be reassigned.
Class lists, teacher placements and transportation routes all will be adjusted in the coming months as principals are scheduled to start work on the 2026-27 master schedule in January, Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik said this week.
“It’s a pretty detailed, complex plan that we have to continue to work on just about every day to make sure we’re ready for the ‘26-’27 school year,” Kovalchik said.
The district aims to keep class sizes and bus transportation times roughly the same as it transitions to the new assignments and splits students between East Allen, George Wolf, Lehigh and Siegfried elementary schools.
Siegfried Elementary School will become a K-5 school, after previously serving grades 1-5.
An interactive map showing the updated boundaries and a summary of what will happen to each district building is posted on the district website.
No changes are planned at the high school or middle school.
Orientation programs, open houses and other activities designed to support students who will be transferring schools are planned for later in the year.
Although there is a feedback form on the interactive map, Kovalchik said he doesn’t anticipate any changes being made in student assignments as the district will need to first determine the number of students in each building before calculating the number of teachers needed at each site.
Students and teachers aren’t the only ones affected by the changes, Kovalchik noted, saying custodial staff, secretaries, instructional assistants and administrators all will be involved.
“There’s a lot that goes into this — a lot of responsibility, a lot of emotion, and rightfully so,” Kovalchik said. “We’re going to work our best as a team here with the parents and the staff and the community at large to make sure that this transition for the school district goes off in a positive way.”
The district plans to eventually reopen Moore Elementary School and return to five elementary schools, but that reopening will be “a couple years down the road at least,” Kovalchik said.
New boundaries were chosen based on building capacities, location of present and future homes, bus travel time, special education requirements and an effort to keep neighborhood students together.
Projections from the townships and boroughs in Northampton Area School District estimated that 2,000 homes will be built, with the majority of construction in Allen, East Allen and Lehigh townships.
In addition to the sale of the Franklin Elementary building, the district will be negotiating the sale of its administration building and technology center. Administrative and technology staff will move into a new center on New Seemsville Road in East Allen Township.
