Tag: Inquirer Local

The Rose Tree Media School District is moving forward with plans to build a kindergarten and first-grade school in Middletown Township, marking its second attempt in recent years to build a new school amid rising enrollment and shrinking classroom space.

The district says the school will be necessary to accommodate increasing student numbers and will finally allow the Delaware County community to offer full-day kindergarten. Yet an uphill battle remains before crews can break ground, as the district must receive approvals from Middletown Township’s council, which has signaled apprehension over traffic and development in the growing municipality.

Why is the district planning to build a new school?

The Rose Tree Media School District plans to build a new elementary school for kindergarten and first-grade students, known as the K-1 Early Learning Center, on district-owned land behind Penncrest High School.

Put simply, “We are overcrowded at the elementary level,” said Rose Tree Media School District Superintendent Joe Meloche.

The school district estimates that more than 600 new homes have been built within its bounds in the last six years, including major developments like Pond’s Edge and the Franklin Mint site. The school district serves Media Borough and Edgmont, Middletown, and Upper Providence Townships. Between 2020 and 2024, Middletown saw a nearly 6% growth rate, due in large part to the new developments. The district projects it will grow by around 300 students in the next 10 years.

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This growth has forced the district to adopt space-saving measures. At Glenwood Elementary School, two modular classrooms were installed in 2023. The school got two more modular classrooms in 2024, then two more in 2025. There are now 10 modular classrooms being used across the district.

While Rose Tree Media can temporarily expand its classroom space, it can’t expand gyms, cafeterias, auditoriums, nurse’s offices, and other communal spaces. Beyond that, Meloche said, older school buildings aren’t designed to accommodate a modern school day, which includes far more individualized services, breakout groups, and collaborative work than it used to.

What will the new school look like?

Rose Tree Media is working with the Schrader Group, an architecture firm that has designed schools throughout the Philly region, including a K-1 school in Phoenixville.

Having Rose Tree Media’s youngest learners in one building will allow the district to add some “nuanced things” to the school’s design, Meloche said. Small water fountains, tiny sinks, and low-to-the-ground chairs come to mind. The K-1 Center will also place all of the district’s kindergarten and first-grade teachers in one place, making professional development and sharing of resources easier, Meloche said.

The project is currently estimated to cost $84 million. The district says it plans to sell bonds to build the school.

Though suggestions have floated around that Rose Tree Media remodel an old school, rather than build something new, district officials say it’s unrealistic. According to the district, purchasing and repurposing an old building “would be costly and would not meet the needs of young children” as it would lack accessibility features, safe play areas, and elements designed specifically for early learners.

What will this mean for full-day kindergarten?

Rose Tree Media is one of many districts in the Philadelphia region that have historically not offered full-day kindergarten.

Citing families’ needs for childcare and the developmental benefits of full-day schooling, many districts in the region have begun implementing full-day programs. The Penn-Delco School District implemented full-day kindergarten in 2023. Lower Merion switched from half-day to full-day last school year. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law ending half-day kindergarten across the state earlier this summer.

Meloche said bringing full-day kindergarten to Rose Tree Media has been on the table since he came to the district from Cherry Hill in 2023. Full-day kindergarten, Meloche said, will allow the district to “provide a much more substantial foundation for our children.” Under the half-day model, learning is crammed into a shorter period, he said, leaving little time for developmentally important activities like free play, outdoor activities, and specials like art, music, and physical education. Rose Tree Media’s existing elementary schools could not accommodate full-day kindergarten, according to the district.

What happened to the district’s previous proposal in Edgmont Township?

Rose Tree Media evaluated 23 potential sites for a new school before landing on a piece of land in Edgmont Township. That plan fell apart after the township denied the school district’s application in 2023, prompting the district to sue. The school district withdrew its legal challenge last spring and pivoted to the K-1 Center proposal.

Meloche said the district is in the process of selling the 37-acre Edgmont Township property on Route 352. The school district is finalizing the appraisal and has a buyer. They hope to finalize the process, including receiving court approval to sell, by the end of the year.

What will the approval process with Middletown Township look like?

Though the district already owns the property behind Penncrest High School, it is required to go through a planning and development process with local and state governing bodies, which can take several months.

The township has asked the district to undergo an expanded traffic study, which will include evaluations of the intersections of Middletown and Oriole Roads, Rose Tree Road and Hunting Hills Lane, and three access points to Penncrest High School on Barren Road. Once the district completes its expanded traffic study, it will submit a preliminary land development plan to the township. That will kick off a series of public hearings.

The district plans to hold an Act 34 hearing in January, a public meeting required by Pennsylvania law that gives residents and employees an opportunity to weigh in on the project.

During public meetings this fall, some residents urged the Middletown Township Council to deny the school district’s proposal, referencing traffic concerns and the desire to preserve green space. Others implored them to approve the school, citing a need to accommodate residents of new apartments and offer full-day kindergarten to working parents.

Council members noted that the school district will have the opportunity to address community concerns before an official plan is brought to the council.

Councilmember David Bialek said at a Sept. 17 meeting that the district has implied to the public that the K-1 Center is “a done deal” and “rubber-stamped,” when a preliminary plan has not yet been submitted.

In an emailed statement, Meloche said, “We have stated multiple times publicly that we have identified the K-1 Center’s location and purpose, and are now in the approval phase, which includes a rigorous process of approvals from Middletown Township, Delaware County, DEP and PennDot. We have been clear that the land development process must be completed prior to obtaining a building permit. The discussion at our Board meetings, the information on the Time to Bloom web page, and our monthly Time to Bloom email updates have laid out the land development process in detail.”

Township council chair Bibianna Dussling said at an Oct. 1 meeting that the “details are going to be key” as the council considers the K-1 Center plans.

“It’s complicated because you can see the pros and cons,” Dussling said. “There’s a lot of concerns as far as the location, traffic, the neighbors, the neighborhood in very close proximity to it, the roadways there that are already busy.”

The district has said its professionals are working on creating an “optimal traffic flow,” which may include adding an additional parking lot for athletic fields and routing K-1 Center bus access around the back of Penncrest High School.

“We believe that we are all on the same side and on the same team,” Meloche said, adding that the goal is “to meet the needs of our community at-large, and to do so in a fiscally responsible but forward-thinking and future-looking way.”

The district says the new school will open in time for the 2028-29 school year. If the application is denied, a spokesperson from the district said they do not have an alternative plan for the K-1 Center.

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