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COMMUNITY MEETING November 6th @ 6:30PM UPDATE: Zoom Only
Needham is currently studying options for renovating or replacing Pollard Middle School to fully meet the educational needs of our 1300+ middle school students.
Since 2019, the Town has been studying and planning for our future school building needs. After years of study, Pollard Middle School was prioritized as our next school building project, and it has been accepted into the Massachusetts State Building Authority (MSBA) program, which provides significant reimbursements to towns to help reduce school building costs.
A Brief History of Pollard Middle School
A Brief History of Pollard Middle School
1958: Pollard Middle School was built. It was soon apparent that the design wasn't suited for the New England climate, leading to structural, HVAC, and plumbing issues that continue to this day.
1969: A major addition was completed, including a new gymnasium and a two-story classroom wing.
1992: Another small addition was built that included the school's library and cafeteria. Despite these additions, overcrowding continued to be an issue as the student population grew.
2002: Modular classrooms were added to Pollard to provide needed space. Intended as a temporary solution, these are still in use today.
2008: Grade 6 was relocated to High Rock School as an interim and temporary solution to overcrowding at Pollard. Because High Rock was originally built as an elementary school, most of its classrooms and common spaces are undersized relative to current middle school standards.
2019: As part of the School Master Planning process, a facilities assessment determined that High Rock has serious space issues, and Pollard has urgent condition and space needs.
2023: After additional study, Pollard was prioritized as Needham’s next school building project. It was accepted into the MSBA program, which provides significant reimbursements to towns to help reduce school building costs.
The School Master Plan
The School Master Plan
The Pollard Middle School Project is just one piece of the School Master Plan, which assessed all of Needham’s school buildings for both condition and space needs. The School Master Plan was first developed and presented in 2020, and was updated in both 2022 and 2023. Through that work, three schools were identified with significant needs: High Rock has serious space issues, while both Pollard and Mitchell have urgent space AND condition needs.
Many different scenarios that could address these needs were explored and then narrowed down for further study. It was determined that the current preferred solution — to rebuild Pollard as a 6-8 school and convert High Rock back to a sixth elementary school — would be both the fastest and least expensive option, with the added educational benefit of reuniting grades 6-8 on a single campus.
Educational Program
Educational Program
The Pollard Middle School Project will provide a cohesive learning journey that aligns with our "Portrait of a Needham Graduate," and the design of the school will be driven by the educational program requirements that have been developed for students in grades 6-8.
Progressive Learning Journey
Grade 6: Focus on exploration across disciplines and interests.
Grade 7: Build foundational knowledge and essential skills in core subjects.
Grade 8: Culminate in a year of action, production, and demonstration.
Core Academics
Utilize a Cluster Teaming Model in which students experience an integrated curriculum by a collaborative team of teachers. This approach fosters deeper connections between subjects and provides consistent support.
Support & Enrichment
The plan includes robust student counseling and a variety of academic support spaces. A wide range of enrichment activities, including Wellness, World Languages, Engineering & Design, Video Production & Theater, Technology & Coding, Literacy & Writing, and more will provide a well-rounded student experience.
Options Being Studied
Options Being Studied
We are currently in the midst of the feasibility period for the project. In September the town submitted seven options to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in the Preliminary Design Program (PDP). All seven options are now being studied in greater depth and will be narrowed down to a single preferred option with a vote by the School Building Committee (SBC) in late November. This will be submitted to the MSBA in the Preferred Schematic Report (PSR), and then the project will move into the Schematic Design (SD) phase where the one preferred option is further refined.
The seven options include two possible sites — the current Pollard site on Harris Avenue and DeFazio on Dedham Avenue — and two possible grade configurations — 6-8 or 7-8. The MSBA requires that an option of a base repair be included as a point of comparison, although that would not be eligible for MSBA reimbursement.
The PDP included approximate square footage and two separate cost estimates for all options, but these figures will change as the project moves from the feasibility to schematic design phase.
If the grade configuration stays 7-8 and High Rock remains a 6th grade center, additional investment would be needed to address its current space issues and also compensate for not having High Rock available first as swing space and then as a sixth elementary school.
Added costs would include:
Adding 15,000 square feet to High Rock to address overcrowding and programmatic deficiencies
Building a temporary school to house students during the Mitchell project
Build a larger Mitchell school — 4 or 5 sections, rather than 3
Project Timeline
Project Timeline
The current schedule anticipates that construction would begin in the spring or summer of 2028. New construction is estimated to take about 30 months, allowing the new school to open for the 2030-31 school year. Meanwhile, the addition/renovation option is estimated to take 57 months, with the school completed around December of 2032.
Children who are currently in elementary school could be attending Pollard during construction and upon completion. Students would be most affected during the construction stage with an addition/renovation, since they will be occupying one part of the building while other parts are built. But new construction could also impact students, especially on the Pollard site.
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