Two Hockomock League schools will be competing in different divisions starting this upcoming Fall season.
Oliver Ames will return to the Davenport division while Milford will take its place in the Kelley-Rex starting in the Fall 2020 season, Hockomock League president and Franklin athletic director Tom Angelo confirmed.
The shift comes due to a Hockomock League by-law that states the six schools with the largest enrollment will be in the Kelley-Rex, and the six schools with the smallest enrollment will make up the Davenport division.
In the latest Department of Elementary and Secondary Educations (DESE) SIMS enrollment numbers for grades 9 through 11 that were submitted to the state on October 1st of last year, Milford had 976 students, fourth-most in the Hockomock League. Oliver Ames came in with 840 students, which is the seventh most.
Here is the Hockomock League by-law:
League Divisions are based on the total enrollment in grades nine through eleven (9-11) of each Member school. The Kelly Rex Division will consist of the 6 largest schools by 9-11 enrollment and the Davenport Division consisting of the 6 smallest schools by 9-11 enrollment.
Divisional realignment will occur every two years. The process used for Divisional realignment will be as follows:
At the December Principal/AD meeting in the year prior to realignment implementation, each school will report their respective Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“DESE”) SIMS enrollment numbers for grades nine through eleven submitted to the state on October 1st of that year. Those enrollment numbers will be used solely as the criteria for determining the Divisional realignment.
For historical reference, October 1, 2015 DESE SIMS report numbers were used for the 2016 realignment. Future realignment will be as follows:
DESE SIMS report
Oct. 1, 2019
Oct. 1, 2021
Oct. 1, 2023
Oct. 1, 2025
Oct. 1, 2027Re-alignment Implementation Year
Fall 2020
Fall 2022
Fall 2024
Fall 2026
Fall 2028
This is the second time that the Hockomock League has moved schools between divisions, with the first coming in 2016 when Oliver Ames and North Attleboro switched places. At the time, the by-law stated the league would review enrollment numbers every four years for grades 9-12.
The Hockomock League has since altered the by-law and will now align the divisions by enrollment numbers for grades 9-11 every two years.
“Down the road, it doesn’t make sense to include the senior class since the alignment won’t affect that group,” Angelo said of the change. “It’s part of a continuous effort to improve our league.”
Oliver Ames was originally part of the Davenport division for six years before the league realigned due enrollment numbers for the 2016-2017 sesaon. At the time, OA had 19 more students than North Attleboro and made the switch to the Kelley-Rex.
Now the Tigers will rejoin the Davenport division while the Scarlet Hawks, who joined the Hockomock League in 2012 and has been apart of the Davenport since, will head to the Kelley-Rex this upcoming Fall.
Hockomock League Enrollment – November 2019 – Grades 9-11
Taunton – 1536
Attleboro – 1363
Franklin – 1317
Milford – 976
Mansfield – 917
King Philip – 916
Sharon – 882
Oliver Ames – 840
North Attleboro – 802
Stoughton -764
Canton – 731
Foxboro – 580
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