BEVERLY — Joanna Murphy Scott has held onto a folder from fifth grade for 30 years.

"It was dear to me," she said. "It's not framed or anything, but it's readily available and kept in the house."

It contains "just goofy stuff," like a ribbon from Field Day, a calendar blotter from her desk signed by her classmates, pictures, scraps of old homework and the lyrics to a John Denver song that was rewritten about Brown Elementary School.

Her class sang it when the school closed in June 1978.

"It was a really hard time," Scott said. "For myself, I was blown away to be leaving my friends." She and half of her class moved on to McKay School, which has since closed, and the other half went to North Beverly.

Scott pulled out the old folder in March when she found out her first-grader, Jackson, might go through a similar transition.

Jackson attends McKeown School, which will close on Friday, a victim of budget cuts.

When Scott's elementary school closed three decades ago, it had more to do with there being not enough students, as opposed to not enough money. Today, the elementary school consolidation plan is designed to help close a $2.6 million gap between spending and expected revenue in next year's budget. Yet regardless of the reason, the results are the same.

Jackson will go to North Beverly Elementary School in the fall, according to the redistricting plan.

"I really understand for these kids what the community of a school is," Scott said.

She was an active volunteer in Yes! for Beverly, the group that advocated a Proposition 21/2 override, which would have kept the school district the same in September. When it failed in a citywide election earlier this month, Jackson was aware it meant he wasn't going to McKeown next year.

"He cried that night of the election, and the next day we talked about it," Scott said.

She explained that not all of his friends, but many, would be moving with him. He has a group of kids he walks to school with, and she told him it would still be that same group, but they would be on a bus instead. He didn't believe her when she said he couldn't walk to school, so she got in the car and drove him to North Beverly.

Despite being disappointed, Scott said it's important to stay positive.

"If I'm always walking around the house gnashing my teeth, he's probably not going to feel too good about it," she said.

On their own

Knowing he's moving with a bunch of his friends is comforting for Jackson, Scott said. But not every student has that.

Leslie tenHope's second-grader, Kiely, and kindergartner, Jack, will be moved from Cove School to Hannah as part of the citywide redistricting. Their first question was who was coming with them.

"In each of their classes, I can only think of three other kids," tenHope said. "My second-grader is mad. Most of her friends are staying behind. I think she's scared, and I can't say I blame her."

As classes get formed next year, she said she hopes many of the kids being moved are placed together so they can relate to each other.

"You really feel singled out," tenHope said.

Amy Norton, whose kids won't be affected by the redistricting, said in some ways the transition will be easier for students moving in large groups at McKeown, as opposed to students at other schools moving in twos and threes.

"They will feel very isolated," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see those kids bunching together. It's a security blanket."

Indeed, that's what happened to Scott in the 1970s.

"The people I ended up staying friends with were the people I went with to the other school," she said. "You sort of cling together more closely."

Keeping it positive

She said it's important for parents to stay positive, and Norton said she thinks parents need to talk to their children and make sure they feel involved.

"One of the big things, which I think McKeown is doing really well right now, is they're doing something for the kids," Norton said.

There will be a celebration barbecue at McKeown tonight, and the fifth-grade class is collecting old pictures and memorabilia to present to the Beverly Historical Society on Friday, the last day of school.

Other than that, Friday will be like any other last day, PTO President Julie DeSilva said.

"We're just doing things the way we always do," she said, "so everyone can leave on a happy note."

Helping your kids

How can you help your kids make the transition to a new school next year?

We asked retiring Centerville Principal Bill Foley, who has more than 34 years of experience in the Beverly Public Schools, for advice. Here are his tips.

r Set an example for your children by being excited about their new school. Tell them it's a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

"They can sense when something is uncomfortable and not right, so it's important for parents to be optimistic," Foley said. "When they're excited about something, they don't have any fear. It's like getting on a roller coaster."

r Take your children to visit the new school> sometime next week after classes end, during the summer and the week before school starts in the fall. That way, they become familiar with the building and their classroom. They may be able to meet their new teachers, because most of them are there setting up the week before school starts.<p>

r Accentuate the positive. When you're at the new school, point out how shiny the floors are, or the view from the windows, and make it feel like a comfortable place to be.

r Be involved with the new school. There's a direct correlation between parent involvement and student achievement, Foley said.