Participate in the Pollard Middle School Project

Pollard Middle School is over 65 years old, and the aging infrastructure is in need of critical upgrades. This initiative is a direct continuation of the Needham School Master Plan, building upon its foundational work to design a new school that will fully meet the educational needs of our 1300+ middle school students.

Needham has a unique opportunity to partner with the state for partial funding of this project. Its success requires the input and support of our entire community, and we want to understand your priorities.

Stay involved! We hope you will attend the upcoming community meetings and sign up for our Pollard Middle School Project email updates below.

CURRENT PHASE

Schematic Design

UPCOMING MEETINGS

School Building Committee
Monday, June 8, 7:55pm
Hybrid at Charles River Room (500 Dedham Ave.) & via Zoom
School Committee
Tuesday, June 16, 6:30pm
Hybrid at Broadmeadow Performance Center & via The Needham Channel

SUMMER COMMUNITY MEETINGS

Tuesday, June 30, 6:00pm
Hybrid at Pollard Middle School Auditorium (200 Harris Ave.) & via Zoom
Wednesday, July 22, 6:00pm
Hybrid at Pollard Middle School Auditorium (200 Harris Ave.) & via Zoom
Wednesday, August 26, 6:00pm
Hybrid at Pollard Middle School Auditorium (200 Harris Ave.) & via Zoom

PROJECT UPDATE

Schematic Design Phase Nearing Completion

Since submitting the Preferred Schematic Report to the MSBA in December of 2025, the project team has been working to finalize the schematic design for a new grade 6-8 building on the current Pollard site.

Over the past several months the design has been adjusted and refined, informed by feedback from educators, town leaders, and community members, along with findings from traffic, tree, and sustainability studies. Value engineering around space planning, square footage, mechanical systems, and construction phasing has taken place during this time in an effort to reduce the overall cost of the project.

Key components of the schematic design have been presented at recent meetings:

Site Design
Elements of the site design include the school footprint, driveways, parking lots, walkways, site circulation, and trees and plantings.

Site Design — Neighborhood Meeting, 5/20/26

Floor Plans & Educational Spaces
The design and layout of the building is driven by the Educational Program Requirements, ensuring that the new building will have sufficient and appropriate space for all of Needham’s current middle school programming.

Educational Spaces and Floor Plan — School Committee Meeting, 5/12/26
Classroom Count and Square Footage — School Committee Meeting, 5/18/26

Mechanical Systems
A Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) was conducted to determine the long term costs of different mechanical systems, resulting in the decision to utilize ground source heat pumps in the new building.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis — School Building Committee Meeting, 4/28/26

Construction Logistics
Bond Construction was brought onto the project in March as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMR), and has been working closely with the design team to provide input and plan for the various phases of construction.

Site Logistics — Neighborhood Meeting, 5/20/26
Video Animations:
Part 1: April - June 2028
Part 2: July - August 2028
Part 3: September 2028 - June 2030
Part 4: July 2030 - August 2031
Part 5: September - December 2031

A revised total project cost estimate is currently being conducted by two estimators, which will be presented and discussed at the June 8 SBC meeting. The SBC will hold a vote on the schematic design submission to the MSBA at the June 22 meeting, to be submitted on June 25, 2026.