PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Providence Public School District is considering merging an elementary school and middle school as early as the next school year, Target 12 has learned.
The proposal would involve merging Esek Hopkins Middle School and Harry Kizirian Elementary School, district spokesperson Jay Wegimont told Target 12. (Kizirian currently operates out of the Narducci Learning Center, a district-wide swing space created for students and staff who’ve been displaced by work in their own school buildings.)
Wegimont said the earliest the merger would occur would be at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, combining at the Narducci Learning Center, before the newly merged school moves into the rebuilt Kizirian building for the 2026-27 school year.
“Through this merger, all students would be able to remain together in the combined schools and staff and faculty members would remain together as well,” Wegimont said.
Wegimont explained if the merger were to occur next year, current 5th graders at Kizirian would have the opportunity to remain in the school as 6th graders, and current 6th and 7th graders at Hopkins would move together to become the new 7th and 8th grade classes at the combined school.