At Rose Tree Media School District, we are dedicated to ensuring every student receives a high-quality education. We prepare students to create meaningful and productive lives in a global society.

In the last six years, our district's communities have grown by more than 600 new homes, and this growth will continue each year. While the expansion of our community is exciting, it creates new challenges and opportunities for our district.

Our district’s four elementary schools are currently operating at or beyond full capacity. Come September, we will be using ten modular classrooms to accommodate our growing student population. This solution is not sustainable, and we can do better for our students, families, and community.

To address this challenge, Rose Tree Media School District is moving forward with plans to build a new K-1 Early Learning Center, designed specifically for kindergarten and first-grade students. This new school will give young learners the environment they deserve, with full-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes, and age-appropriate learning and activity spaces, while alleviating overcrowding in our elementary schools. 

This website will provide one central location for our community to receive updates on design and planning for this new school. Please stay tuned as we move ahead with this process.

The Challenges We Face

The need is clear: enrollment is rising, and our elementary schools are out of space.

Growth and Enrollment
Are Accelerating

Enrollment continues to rise steadily in our school district, trending upward from the addition of 600 new homes in the past six years. 

Our Schools Are Full

Our elementary schools are already at capacity and cannot accommodate more growth. They lack the space to offer full-day kindergarten.

Overcrowding Impacts Learning

Overcrowded buildings, temporary modular classrooms, and repurposed shared spaces strain resources, limit student opportunities, and do not provide a sustainable, long-term solution. 

Moving Beyond Our Current Facilities

Finding a new path forward

Enlarging our current elementary school buildings is unrealistic, as the land, infrastructure, and building designs do not support expansion. 

Converting other buildings is costly and would not meet the needs of young children. Repurposed buildings lack the design elements essential for early childhood education and development, such as age-appropriate classrooms, accessibility features, and safe play areas. 

The district already owns land near Penncrest High School that is zoned for educational use, where the K-1 Early Learning Center will be built. 

The Plan: Creating a New K-1 Early Learning Center

More space, more support, more opportunity

Full-Day Kindergarten

The K-1 Early Learning Center will meet the rising demand for full-day kindergarten and support stronger early learning opportunities. 

Improved Learning Environment for all Elementary Schools

Fewer students at our current elementary schools will provide more space for students in our second through fifth grades.

Consistency for Young Learners

Keeping kindergarten and first grade together will give our youngest learners and their teachers stability, deeper relationships, and a consistent foundation.

Connected School Communities

Locating the new K-1 Early Learning Center near the high school will create opportunities for learning mentorship programs and shared resources that benefit students of all ages.

Dedicated Early Learning Environment

Classrooms, common areas, and activity spaces purposefully designed for 5- to 7-year-olds will allow them to explore, play, and grow in an environment tailored to their developmental needs.

Linking Learning to Life Program

The K-1 Early Learning Center will include a dedicated space for our Linking Learning to Life program, which serves students ages 18-21 with special needs and prepares them for successful futures and vocations. 

Next Steps

Our design and planning process from June 2025 through the fall will include opportunities for teachers, staff, families, and community members to learn more about the new school and provide feedback.

We plan to open the new K-1 Early Learning Center in time for the 2028/2029 school year. The 2028/2029 school year would be full-day kindergarten only.

Help Us Shape the Future

Your voice is essential to our planning process and will help shape the vision of the new K-1 Early Learning Center. Please contact the district with questions or input.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Questions About the Plan

  • The Rose Tree Media School District is moving forward with plans to build a new K-1 Early Learning Center, designed specifically for kindergarten and first-grade students. The K-1 Early Learning Center will meet rising demand for full-day kindergarten, support stronger early learning opportunities, and alleviate overcrowding at our elementary schools.

  • The K-1 Early Learning Center will be located on land near Penncrest High School that is already owned by the district and zoned for educational use. Locating the new K-1 Early Learning Center near the high school will also create opportunities for learning mentorship programs and shared resources that benefit students of all ages.

  • Our four elementary schools are currently operating at or beyond full capacity. Come September, we will be using ten modular classrooms. Our elementary schools cannot accommodate more growth and lack the space to offer full-day kindergarten. 

    A dedicated K-1 early learning environment will allow 5- to 7-year-olds to explore, play, and grow in classrooms and activity spaces tailored to their developmental needs. Keeping kindergarten and first grade together will give our youngest learners and their teachers stability, deeper relationships, and a consistent foundation. 

  • Enlarging our current elementary school buildings is unrealistic, as the land, infrastructure, and building designs do not support expansion. 

    Purchasing and repurposing an existing building would be costly and would not meet the needs of young children. Repurposed buildings lack the design elements essential for early childhood education and development, such as age-appropriate classrooms, accessibility features, and safe play areas. Further, the district would need to purchase and rezone such a property, which is a long and expensive process. 

  • Our four elementary schools cannot accommodate a full-day kindergarten program due to overcrowding, and the buildings cannot be effectively expanded to meet our needs. 

Questions About Operations and Timeline

  • We plan to open the new K-1 Early Learning Center in time for the 2028/2029 school year. The 2028/2029 school year would be full-day kindergarten only. 

  • While we have not yet determined the school start and end times for the K-1 Early Learning Center, its hours of operation will be on a schedule staggered around the elementary schools’ schedules. We expect to have a tentative determination of K-1 Early Learning Center hours by the end of June 2026, with a finalized schedule in June 2027.

  • Additional staff will be needed for the K-1 Early Learning Center. Specific needs will be determined in the coming months.

  • Bus service will be provided for students to and from school. The bus schedule for the school will be determined by the school’s hours of operation, which will be staggered around our other schools’ hours of operation. We expect to have a tentative determination of K-1 Early Learning Center hours by the end of June 2026, with a finalized schedule in June 2027.

  • While we cannot guarantee that students will be grouped by their future elementary schools, we are committed to fostering strong social connections. The school will offer many opportunities for students to build friendships across diverse peer groups. Parents, teachers, and staff will be invited to share input on the school's social environment during the planning and design phase.

Questions About the Property

  • The Rose Tree Media School Board has approved an $11 million plan to move forward with a combined baseball/softball multi-use field with synthetic turf at Penncrest High School, an adjacent 80-space parking lot, and an additional synthetic turf field at Springton Lake Middle School. 

    Although this project is separate from the K-1 Early Learning Center, it is moving through the land development process at the same time. Coordinating the projects in this way allows the district to streamline permitting and approvals, minimize disruption, and align timelines and construction efforts.

  • We strongly encourage parents to use bus transportation instead of driving, as it helps reduce traffic around our schools.

    Site planning professionals are focused on ensuring efficient traffic flow and are coordinating with the Penncrest High School athletic field planning team. As of the May 8, 2025 Board Work Session, they are exploring options such as a new athletic field parking lot and a possible bus loop behind PHS. This could remove parent drop-off traffic from Rose Tree Road. These options are still being evaluated as part of the ongoing site and traffic planning process.

  • The township will be working in tandem with the construction professionals through a land development process to keep the project safe for all. Although a tree line will likely need to be removed from the property, the township’s replacement policy for trees will ensure vegetation to support the wildlife and the appearance of the property. A study of the habitat has shown no endangered species living on the property.

  • Several years ago, a site in Edgmont Township was identified and purchased by the school district for a new K-5 elementary school. Edgmont Township declined the opportunity to rezone the property for the district to construct the school. The Edgmont property is now for sale. 

Questions About the Project Cost

  • At present, the professionals designing and pricing the project have projected a cost of between $81 million and $82 million for approximately 120,000 square feet of building space. The district will sell bonds to borrow the funds to build the school.

Questions About Getting Involved

  • We want to hear from you. Please use the Connect Form above to share your questions or feedback about this project with the district.