Amherst-Pelham Regional School District

What Amherst-Pelham Regional School District does

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District (ARPS) is a public K-12 school district established in 1968, headquartered at 170 Chestnut Street in Amherst, Massachusetts, and serving approximately 2,500 students across four member towns: Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury. The district operates a network of seven schools comprising Amherst Early Education Center, four elementary schools (Crocker Farm, Fort River, Wildwood, Pelham Elementary), Amherst Regional Middle School, Amherst Regional High School, and Summit Academy, an alternative program. The Caminantes dual language program at Fort River provides 90/10 Spanish-English immersion, and the district reports native-speaker representation across more than 38 languages.

The district is funded primarily through local property taxes from member towns, Massachusetts state education aid, and federal grants including ESSER III, with supplemental revenue from fee-based afterschool programming and a School Choice lottery for non-resident students. ARPS holds an 11:1 student-to-teacher ratio, a 93.6% average attendance rate, and reports that 50% of ARHS juniors and seniors take AP exams. The technology stack is built on commodity K-12 platforms — PowerSchool for student information, Google Workspace for Education, ParentSquare for family communication, Finalsite for the public web presence, and BoardDocs for governance — with no proprietary technology development.

The organization is governed by elected school committees (Amherst, Pelham, Regional) and led by Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (appointed 2024) supported by an executive team covering Finance and Operations, Family Advocacy and Student Wellbeing, Curriculum and Assessment, and Strategy and Human Resources. The district maintains strategic partnerships with the Collaborative for Educational Services, UMass Amherst College of Education, and the Amherst Survival Center. With approximately 992 directory constituents, ARPS functions as a community-embedded education monopoly within its four-town service area rather than as a commercially positioned entity.

Name

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District

Legal name

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District

Website

https://arps.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is a public K-12 district in Western Massachusetts serving approximately 2,500 students across seven schools in Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury, funded by local property taxes, state aid, and federal grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public K-12 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialized Programs & Classrooms (Autism, Emotional/Behavioral, Intellectual/Developmental, Multi-Disability) (EDAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Public K-12 education
• School district services
• Dual language immersion
• Special education programs
• Student transportation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Amherst

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Public school district funded primarily through local property taxes, state education funding, and federal grants. The district serves students from Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury towns. Revenue supports educational programming, facilities, transportation, and district operations.
2. Federal and State Grants: District receives ESSER III funds and other federal/state educational grants to support specific programs and initiatives including COVID-19 recovery and educational improvements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is a public K-12 educational institution providing comprehensive educational services to approximately 2,500 students across Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury in Western Massachusetts. The district operates four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and the Summit Academy alternative school, delivering core academic instruction aligned to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks along with special education, English language learner services, the Caminantes dual language immersion program, athletics, food services, and transportation. It is supported by centralized administrative functions including a Family Center, business office, human resources, and information systems.

Product overview

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is a public K-12 educational institution providing comprehensive educational services to approximately 2,500 students across four towns in Western Massachusetts. The district operates as a unified educational platform consisting of four elementary schools (Crocker Farm, Fort River, Wildwood, and Pelham Elementary), one middle school (Amherst Regional Middle School), one high school (Amherst Regional High School), and one alternative academy (Summit Academy). The core educational services are supplemented by specialized programs including the Caminantes Dual Language Program (a Spanish-English immersion program at Fort River), athletics programs, food services, transportation, and the ARPS Family Center for family engagement. The district uses PowerSchool as its student information system, ParentSquare for family communication, and BoardDocs for governance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Educational Services Public K-12 educational services serving approximately 2,500 students across Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury, Massachusetts. The district operates four elementary schools (Crocker Farm, Fort River, Wildwood, Pelham Elementary), one middle school (Amherst Regional Middle School), one high school (Amherst Regional High School), and Summit Academy, delivering comprehensive academic instruction aligned to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks along with special education, English language learner, athletics, food, and transportation services.
• Caminantes Dual Language Program A 90/10 Spanish-English dual language immersion program housed at Fort River Elementary, designed to develop bilingual and biliterate students. Children begin in Spanish immersion kindergarten and transition to 50/50 instruction by third grade, learning all subjects in both languages through sixth grade.
• ARPS Athletics Program Athletics department offering fall, winter, and spring sports programs for middle and high school students, including baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis, track & field, ultimate, Alpine and Nordic skiing, basketball, swimming, indoor track, and hockey.
• ARPS Food Services Self-operated child nutrition program participating in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Summer Food Service Program, serving approximately 2,500 students across seven public schools with nutritious meals sourced locally where possible.
• ARPS Family Center Family engagement center connecting students, families, and the community to support student academic achievement and success, providing resources, outreach programs, and family support services across the four-town region.
• ARPS Transportation Services Transportation department operating a fleet of 12 school buses and 9 school vans to transport students to and from school, including out-of-district placements, as well as athletic and cultural events.
• Before/After School Programs Fee-based afterschool and before-school care programs at elementary schools (Capacidad at Crocker Farm, Mark's Meadow at Fort River, PrimeTime at Wildwood) and middle school programs (Morning Movement and VELA), offered at tiered monthly rates based on days of attendance per week ($96-$432/month for SY 2025-2026).

Quantifiable outcome

• 93.6% average attendance rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ARPS CONNECT District Mentoring ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2024New district-wide mentoring initiative (CONNECT: Creating Opportunities through Nurturing Networking, Engagement, Care, and Trust) providing meaningful mentoring experiences for students. Guest speakers such as Judge Bruce S. Melikian participate.
• Collaborative for Educational ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCES provides collaborative educational services and support to the district, serving as a key partner in educational programming and professional development for staff.
• Town of ShutesburycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the four towns (along with Amherst, Pelham, and Leverett) that the regional school district serves. Students from Shutesbury attend the regional middle and high schools.
• Town of AmherstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary host town for the district. Houses the majority of district schools including all middle and high school facilities. Partners with the town for facilities, transportation, and community services.
• Amherst Survival CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal community organization providing support services to Amherst residents. Partners with district to support student and family wellbeing through community resources.
• UMass Amherst College of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership providing teacher preparation pipeline, professional development opportunities, student teaching placements, and collaborative educational research. UMass Lion Dance Team performs at district schools for cultural events.
• Wheelhouse Farm CateringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partnership providing hands-on culinary learning experiences for sixth-grade students through garden-based education program connecting elementary schools.
• Springfield Science MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerField trip destination for Fort River fourth-graders providing hands-on science learning experiences to extend and enrich the science curriculum.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Regional players

• Hatfield Public Schools: Small adjacent Hampshire County K-6 district whose students typically matriculate to Smith Vocational or regional high schools; relevant for feeder-pattern and intra-district-coop economics relative to ARPS's middle/high configuration.
• Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School: Regional vocational high school drawing from multiple Pioneer Valley towns via Chapter 74 sending arrangements; ARPS families participate in this regional choice ecosystem, making it an adjacent public education offering rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• Hampshire Regional School District: Regional K-8 district serving Hampshire County towns (Williamsburg, Westhampton, Chesterfield, Goshen) in the same Pioneer Valley labor market; directly analogous regional-district structure, funding, and curriculum alignment.
• Frontier Regional School District: Regional secondary district serving Deerfield, Conway, Whately, and Sunderland — a structurally analogous multi-town regional model with shared superintendent arrangements and similar Chapter 70 dynamics.
• Northampton Public Schools: Comparable Pioneer Valley K-12 district of similar enrollment scale (~2,500-3,000 students), serving a comparably diverse and college-town-adjacent community within the same Massachusetts Chapter 70 funding regime.
• Greenfield Public Schools: Franklin County K-12 district of similar scale operating under the same Massachusetts state-aid formulas and serving a comparable rural-with-ELL-population profile, making it a natural comparator on per-pupil spending and program structure.
• Belchertown Public Schools: Eastern Hampshire County K-12 district serving a similar residential/suburban Western Mass demographic, a close comparator on facility-age, transportation footprint, and special-education load.
• Longmeadow Public Schools: Western Mass K-12 district of comparable enrollment scale, frequently cited on Massachusetts accountability metrics alongside ARPS, providing a high-quality suburban comparator for AP/college-readiness outcomes.
• South Hadley Public Schools: Adjacent Pioneer Valley K-12 district (grades PK-12) facing similar demographic and fiscal dynamics, providing a tight benchmark for enrollment trends and operational efficiency.
• Easthampton Public Schools: Smaller Pioneer Valley K-12 district with overlapping Five College talent catchment, comparable per-pupil structure and ELL programming footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arpsdistrict
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@arpstubechannel806
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARPS.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amherst-pelham-regional-public-schools
• Instagraminstagram.com/arps_district
• TikToktiktok.com/@arps_district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amherst-Pelham Regional School District