The Town of Needham is designing a new Pollard Middle School to meet the educational needs of our 1300+ middle school students in grades 6-8.
The Town has been accepted into the Massachusetts State Building Authority (MSBA) program, which provides significant reimbursements to towns to help reduce school building costs.Â
PROJECT GOALS:
        Address aging infrastructure in need of repair or replacement.
The existing Pollard building is over 65 years old: it does not meet modern building, energy, and fire codes and is not ADA compliant. The HVAC, electrical, security and plumbing systems need replacement, along with the roof, windows, railings, ramps, and elevators. A sprinkler system is also needed.
        Provide the space needed for middle school programming.
Both High Rock and Pollard are lacking sufficient space. Most of the classrooms are undersized, as well as common areas such as the libraries, gyms, cafeterias, and performance spaces. Neither building has adequate space for special education, school counseling, and nursing services.
        Reunite grades 6-8 on a single campus.
Relocating 6th grade to High Rock was a temporary solution to overcrowding at Pollard. A reunited school will reduce transitions between schools, expand curriculum offerings for students, and provide the opportunity to develop skills and maturity as modeled by older peers. It will also provide more opportunity for coordination and collaboration of grade 6-8 staff.
HELPFUL LINKS:
Schematic Design (SD)
Completed: June 25, 2026
Town Submission of SD to MSBA
Next Milestone: August 26, 2026
MSBA Board Approval of the SD
School Building Committee
Monday, August 24, 7:55pm
Hybrid at Charles River Room (500 Dedham Ave.) & via Zoom
School Committee
Wednesday, August 26, 1:00pm
In Person Emery Grover Building Room 302 (1330 Highland Ave.)
Wednesday, August 26, 6:00pm
Hybrid at Pollard Middle School Auditorium (200 Harris Ave.) & via Zoom
Saturday, September 19, 9:00am
Pollard Middle School (200 Harris Ave.)
Saturday, October 17, 9:00am
Pollard Middle School (200 Harris Ave.)
The Town of Needham reached a milestone on June 25, submitting the Schematic Design package for the Pollard Middle School Reunification/Renovation project to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Schematic Design is the phase in which the project team develops a detailed design with enough specificity to establish the project's scope, budget, and schedule — and completing this submission marks a major step forward in the MSBA grant program.
MSBA staff will review the submission and schedule a Project Scope and Budget Conference with the Town. The project will then go before the MSBA Board of Directors on August 26 for approval of a Project Scope and Budget Agreement, the document that formally establishes MSBA's financial participation and reimbursement rate in the project.
Following MSBA Board approval, the Town will bring the project to the community for authorization through a Special Town Meeting on October 19 and a debt exclusion vote on the Town election ballot on November 3.