Renderings of the new Longmeadow middle school, which would be built on the campus of Williams Middle School.
Photo credit: Longmeadow Public Schools
LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea shared the latest plans for the new middle school, now in the schematic design process, while at the Feb. 25 School Committee meeting.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority, a semi-autonomous state agency that helps fund school building construction and repairs, has entered into an agreement with the town to reimburse some eligible project costs. The latest figures available reflect a cost of about $152 million, of which the MSBA would reimburse about $45 million.
The school would house about 665 middle school students, combining the student bodies of Glenbrook Middle School and Williams Middle School, both of which are more than 60 years old and not designed for education in the 21st century.
Set to be built on the Williams Middle School property, the school would be two-stories, with four wings arrayed as fingers branching off from a central spine. O’Shea said the Middle School Building Committee is working in conjunction with architectural firm Jones Whitsett to create a “secure” yet “accessible” campus with outdoor spaces available to students.
The building committee is still determining whether to use natural grass or turf on the field. While turf is more expensive up front — up to $760,000, as opposed to a $400,000 natural grass field — the annual maintenance of a grass field costs about five times as much as turf.
On the inside of the building, two wings would be devoted to the public-facing areas: the gymnasium, cafeteria, auditorium and arts performance spaces. The other two wings would house the classrooms and other educational spaces.
O’Shea said the large science labs on the top floor would be an upgrade from the cramped facilities that are now in use. Nearby, would be a “counseling suite” with a social-emotional room, and literary and math labs for use by students who need support in those subjects.
The building’s color scheme and furnishings are also being considered by the building committee.
Later this year, the project will go out to bid and, in November, the town will vote on whether to fund the new school.
Turning to another MSBA matter, the School Committee approved the submission of a statement of interest to the agency regarding the replacement of the windows and doors at Center School. As of this year, the windows are old enough to be eligible for replacement under the MSBA’s accelerated repair program. The MSBA would reimburse the town for up to half of the costs, O’Shea said.
New windows would improve the climate and energy efficiency of the building, O’Shea said. Protecting the envelope of the school is “critically important,” the superintendent said.
School Committee member Jaime Hensch remarked, “Why wouldn’t we do this?”
O’Shea agreed that it was a “no brainer.”
On a separate issue, Longmeadow Public Schools recently sent our surveys to families and staff that asked about cell phone policy preferences. While there was a consensus that phones are distracting and disruptive to learning, solutions ranged widely between not allowing phones for any student at any time, to educating children on responsible use. O’Shea said that based on the “hundreds and hundreds” of survey responses, a tiered system of restrictions — no phones for elementary students with increasing responsible use policies for older students — may make sense.
The most consistent feedback was that there needed to be consistent enforcement from all school personnel. The School Department plans to engage with stakeholders on the matter to address the use of a “social norms” campaign, digital literacy education and concerns about safety.
O’Shea said that there were parents who wanted their child to have a phone to contact them in an emergency. However, Hensch countered that being on a phone during an emergency could be dangerous. He gave an example of receiving one set of instructions from a teacher and other instructions from parents, leading to chaos. School Committee Chair Nicole Choiniere agreed. In an emergency, she said, “I need eyes on me.”
Aside from emergencies, Hensch said parents often needlessly text their child throughout the day, increasing the disruptive nature of phones. Positive behavior needs to be modeled by adults, he said.
