NEWTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
EDUCATION CENTER
100 WALNUT STREET
NEWTON, MA 02460
MEMORANDUM
TO: School Committee
FROM: Jeffrey M. Young
Superintendent of Schools
DATE: April 6, 2000
RE: Recommendation for High School Building
Project
Over the past year, we have
been engaged in an intensive study of Newton’s existing high school
facilities. The study itself has been
characterized by broad participation: School Committee members, City officials,
school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and the architectural firm
of Strekalovsky and Hoit have all contributed to the discussion. Having considered issues ranging from the
broadest educational goals to the most specific elements of construction, I am
prepared to recommend that the School Committee adopt the proposal that is
summarized in this memorandum and detailed in the accompanying comprehensive
report.
In essence, I am
recommending that the City of Newton expend $78.8 million (in year 2000
dollars) to rehabilitate Newton North and Newton South High Schools. This comprehensive proposal will meet the
following objectives:
·
to accommodate
projected student enrollment (see Table 1);
·
to provide adequate and
appropriate space for teachers and students to do their work;
·
to complete deferred
maintenance projects and bring existing infrastructure systems up to current
building codes;
·
to meet the
expectations articulated by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
for high school accreditation; and
·
to comply with
Department of Education regulations so that the City will receive a 60%
reimbursement of the total project cost.
In formulating this
proposal, we have worked to integrate the programmatic goals of a modern
American high school with the functional needs of two physical plants that call
desperately for upgrade and renovation.
Clearly, this project is large in scope, but it is our belief that a
community’s high schools are its most valuable asset; thus, this proposal seeks
to take the comprehensive approach, that is, to do the job once and to do it
right.
In December, 1999, the
School Committee voted to create two high schools in Newton of approximately
equal size. As I wrote in a memo to the
Committee at that time, there is a strong rationale for taking this approach:
High school education in Newton should embrace the
ideals of academic challenge and support, positive relations between staff and
students, opportunities for individual students to discover their uniqueness as
young adults, and a strong sense of community.
With numerous forces from inside and outside the schoolhouse affecting
the way education is conducted, we must work hard to organize our schools in
ways that allow us to reach for the ideals stated above.
All students should have access to a curriculum that
is grounded in the core academic subjects and at the same time provides ample
opportunity for students to pursue elective areas of study. In every classroom, teachers and students
should be expected to do their best work.
To that end, teachers must utilize a wide repertoire of instructional
strategies to meet the learning needs of a diverse group of students. Schoolwork is serious business and teachers
not only must have expertise in their subject area but also in their personal
knowledge of the students they meet every day.
There should be a shift from an emphasis on teaching to an emphasis on
learning. Teachers need to be able to
know all of their students well in order to help them to understand and
appreciate the intellectual struggle that comes with grappling with challenging
material and the joy and self-esteem that result from success in that struggle.
American secondary education has been characterized
since its inception as a kind of factory model. Here, teachers deliver content and “produce” students who have
accumulated enough information to pass a test and graduate. A new approach to high school education
suggests that the human relationships that grow up between staff members and
students are essential in ensuring that all students reach the achievement
levels we expect of them. We need to
reject the factory model; we should be equipping young people to achieve the
standards society sets for them in a manner that respects them as individuals,
each with different interests, strengths and talents. Effective schools must be organized in such a way that adults and
children know one another well enough to foster civility, mutual respect, and a
true sense of community.
One of the ways students begin to develop a strong
sense of self is by finding their own place within the academic setting. Schools must afford students the chance to
explore a variety of intellectual pursuits.
For some, a particular class will be the entry way to adulthood; these
students will discover the intersection of a rich content area and their own
special predilections and interests.
For others, it will be an extracurricular activity that unlocks their
individuality. High schools should be
planned in such a way that offers students a wide variety of programs and
opportunities to connect to their own learning, for it is through these
connections that learning becomes most meaningful. Thus, a key for high schools is access: students must have access
to subject matter as well as to their emerging adult selves.
In addition, high schools should strive to become
communities where individuals know one another, care about one another and take
care of one another. Like the best of
communities, students and staff in high schools should share a sense of
purpose. They should know why they are
there and be constantly reminded, in a dozen ways every day, that their
community is safe and supportive—a place where they can feel prepared to take
risks in their learning and development.
Parents, too, have an important role as community members. Parents need to feel that in a large
secondary school, they still have a way to enjoy some of the benefits of the
smaller elementary or middle school.
These are basic human concerns.
Parents should know that there are adults in the school who are looking
out for their sons and daughters, that there is someone in the school who
really knows that young person as an individual and is working to be sure that
the student is being supported and progressing appropriately.
High schools must be organized as places which
de-emphasize the bureaucracy too often associated with big educational
institutions and substitute instead a kind of intimacy that will produce
significant educational, intellectual, psychological, physical and social gains
for the students in attendance.
We can know a good high school when we see one. Good high schools are places where there
exists a sense of purposeful activity and enthusiasm, where adolescents are
encouraged to take on greater responsibility, and are engaged in working to
achieve a clearly stated end. In good
schools, we see expressions of students' academic, artistic, athletic and other
achievements throughout the building.
We see teachers talking to students all over the place—in hallways,
offices, classrooms, and common areas.
We also see teachers talking to teachers, collaborating on the best ways
to meet student needs. We see parents
present in good schools. We see
teachers working in a professional environment, equipped with the essential
tools of their trade, including a desk, a telephone, and a computer with easy
access to electronic mail to enhance communication among teachers themselves
but also between school and home. We
feel a hum of activity that is busy and energizing, not chaotic and enervating.
In Newton, we seek to support two such high
schools. The administration of the
Newton Public Schools recommends proceeding with plans to roughly equalize the
population of both high schools so that, simply stated, one school is not too
large and one school is not too small.
While there is no firm magic number for the optimal size of a public
high school, experience teaches us that once a school enrolls over approximately
2000 students, certain things begin to happen.
Likewise, in schools that are too small, disadvantages appear.
First, there is an increased sense of anonymity among
students and staff. We believe that the
members of a graduating class should all know one another. This is clearly significant in regard to
creating the sense of community described above, but it is also important with
respect to safety and a sense of belonging.
There should be, as suggested above, a shared sense of purpose, or vision,
which binds people together. In
mid-sized high schools (the kind we are recommending for Newton), we can be
more attentive to the physical and psychological safety of children. When a school gets overly large, issues such
as supervision, building management, and control require more energy and
resources, and begin to take center stage in the daily life of the school,
where the emphasis should remain on learning and teaching. While this advantage is critical in and of
itself in these times, it is also true that when people function in an
environment where they do not feel lost in the crowd, their chances for making
intellectual gains also rise.
Second, on the theme of anonymity, it is important to
build a culture of collegiality among the adults in the building. In a mid-size high school, there are greater
opportunities for teachers and other staff members to share strategies for
instruction as well as insights about particular students. The units within a school (i.e. houses,
departments) should be properly sized so as to promote the kind of
collaborative conversation we know builds unity of purpose and expectation.
Third, in a mid-sized school, the curriculum no
longer must utilize a “one size fits all” approach. On the contrary, in a school of 1800-2000 students, we have more
ability to tailor academic programs to the students themselves, and there is an
increased opportunity to employ a diverse teaching force that will establish
personal connections with the broadest range of students.
Fourth, in a school that is too small, on the other
hand, administrators often wrestle with the problem of “singletons,” that is,
courses for which only one section can be offered due to the lack of critical
mass of students and teachers to develop a more comprehensive school
schedule. It is not right for students
to have to choose, for example, between taking a second language and
participating in the school orchestra.
Or, what happens when, say, thirty students elect an Advanced Placement
course? As a managerial matter, the
principal is forced to choose between running one large section with thirty
students, which may be educationally unsound, or two small sections with
fifteen students apiece, which may be fiscally unsound. With more students and teachers in the mix,
there is greater flexibility for meeting all student needs.
Fifth, in a school that is too small, we are
concerned about those students “at the fringes,” the ones whose interests are
so specialized that they often cannot find enough peers like themselves. In a mid-sized school, the opportunities for
students to meet new friends who share their interests are greatly increased.
Finally, it must be said that while the primary
purpose of school still remains the academic development of students, we are
acutely conscious of the factors that help us reach that goal. We seek, therefore, to restructure the high
school experience in Newton so that every freshman who enters either North or
South knows that in the course of four years, he or she will have a chance to
succeed, to test out a new idea, to meet people like and unlike himself or
herself, and to make a meaningful, and possibly life-lasting human connection
with an adult who knows and cares.
Much of the overall cost of
this project involves rehabilitating the existing infrastructure at both high
schools. North is thirty years old;
South is forty. At both buildings,
systems need to be repaired or replaced.
This should come as no surprise to any homeowner who has found him- or
herself in the position of having to replace a roof, a heating system, or
electrical service. The report from the
architect details the engineering studies that have formed the backdrop for the
recommendations to address these issues.
Newton is not alone in
dealing with these matters. A recent
report from the National Association of Secondary School Principals in
partnership with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
entitled “Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution” describes the
problem facing the nation:
The condition of facilities can affect the climate
for learning. All aspects of the high
school’s physical environment have an impact on students and their inclination
to achieve. The physical setting of a
high school should nurture a student in much the same way that the clean, safe
interior of a home makes the youngster feel comfortable and secure. The physical environment of a high school
ought to lend a sense of affirming, supporting, tolerating, accepting, and
caring. Americans must provide the
kinds of school facilities that show students that society values them. In this connection, districts should ensure
that facilities are accessible to the disabled, which, after all, is a legal
requirement. Furthermore, schools must
provide for the safety of all people who use the facilities, making certain,
for instance, that fire alarms and sprinkler systems work and that the design
of parking lots protects pedestrians.
A report from the federal government’s General
Accounting Office estimates that schools in the United States need $112 billion
to upgrade or repair their facilities, noting that as many as one-third of all
schools need extensive repairs or replacement.
These findings reflect the fact that one-third of the 110,000 schools in
the country were built before World War II and only about 1 of 10 schools was
constructed since 1980. In a survey of teachers in the late 1980s, the Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching discovered that heating was
considered a problem by 54 percent; cleanliness, by 51 percent; and the general
condition of the physical plant, by 46 percent. A good building does not
necessarily make a good school and, in fact, one sometimes finds marvelous
schools housed in centuries-old structures in European countries. But the morale and motivation of those in
the building can sag—and safety can be imperiled—when a school of any age
suffers neglect.
Districts everywhere in the United States exacerbated
the physical problems of schools in recent years by deferring maintenance in
response to budgetary pressures. The
District of Columbia Committee on Public Education, looking at the dismal state
of school facilities in that city, said that the message to students was that
“...what is going on inside is not important, that the school system is
uncaring, and that neglect is tolerated.
A building in poor repair contributes to the attitude and discipline
problems among students, which in turn contribute to poor performance in
schools.”
The physical condition of school buildings depends on
the attitudes and deportment of many people.
As in a family, each member of the school community bears some
responsibility for the well-being of the facilities. Japanese schools assign students to perform various maintenance
tasks in their schools, leaving no doubt in the minds of young people about
their role in the upkeep of their schools.
Students in the United States should also come to understand, especially
by the time they are teenagers, that they share an obligation to keep their
schools in good condition. Litter and
vandalism, for instance, do not miraculously appear as a result of infractions
by evil elves. Responsibility for the
upkeep of a high school extends more widely when the school opens its
facilities to the neighborhood for various functions before and after classes,
on weekends, and during vacations.
Outsiders who use the school, like the students and the teachers, must
respect the facilities and contribute toward keeping the building clean and in
working order.
District Total Project Cost HS
Enrollment Population of
city/town
Amherst-Pelham $22,000,000 1320 35,228
(A); 14,030 (P)
Barnstable $43,000,000 1888 44,000
Brookline $43,800,000 1778 48,724
Dover-Sherborn Building
committee 443 6017
(D), 4442 (S)
still
gathering info
$54
m (renovation)
Hamilton-Wenham $25,000,000 698 7978 (H); 5000 (W)
($6,000,000
for high school)
Holliston No
response as
of 10/29
Lexington $30,000,000 1543 31,984
Shrewsbury $57,000,000 921 27, 416
Westwood $35,000,000 601 14,347
Enrollment at both high
schools has been increasing steadily over the last few years and is expected to
continue increasing by almost 500 students to the high school population by the
peak year of 2005-06. This represents a
13.9% increase over a six-year period.
Assuming existing conditions and feeder patterns for each school, Newton
South is projected to experience a student increase of 24.4% (311 students) by
2003-04, while Newton North would enrollments are expected to rise 3% by
2003-04 and 8.4% by 2005-06.
Table
1 shows the projected enrollments before redistricting for both high
schools over a ten-year period.
Table 1:
Ten-Year Enrollment Projections for Newton North and South High Schools
|
|
Actual 99-00 |
Projected |
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|
|
|
00-01 |
01-02 |
02-03 |
03-04 |
04-05 |
05-06 |
06-07 |
07-08 |
08-09 |
09-10 |
|
|
NNHS |
2,123 |
2,136 |
2,184 |
2,214 |
2,186 |
2,245 |
2,301 |
2,261 |
2,277 |
2,217 |
2,107 |
|
|
NSHS |
1,273 |
1,383 |
1,477 |
1,549 |
1,587 |
1,565 |
1,566 |
1,564 |
1,554 |
1,549 |
1,504 |
|
|
Total |
3,396 |
3,519 |
3,661 |
3,763 |
3,773 |
3,810 |
3,867 |
3,825 |
3,831 |
3,766 |
3,611 |
|
In addition, as is detailed
in the accompanying study, numerous infrastructure needs have been identified
by the architect and his engineering consultants. This project seeks to address all of these issues once and for
all, so that both high schools are properly equipped for at least the next
twenty-five years.
Thus, this proposal attends
to both programmatic and system needs in a comprehensive fashion, offering
Newton the opportunity to bring its high schools up to date as safe,
functional, modern physical assets for the City.
The
sustained increase in student enrollment has created serious program and space
needs for both high schools. In May,
1999, the Superintendent appointed the School Planning Committee to identify
issues related to the space and programmatic needs in the two high
schools. The superintendent charged
this committee to:
Manage an open
process through which information will be collected and passed along to the
architect and School Building Committee.
Information shall include but not be limited to the following: school
enrollment projections; current research on effective high schools;
programmatic needs of high school students and staff, including safety; and
other community issues, including potential redistricting. The School Planning Committee is expected to
confer with administrators, faculty, staff, parents and students in reaching
its conclusions about Newton’s high school educational plan for the
future. The School Planning Committee
will report to the Superintendent of Schools.
The Committee will be co-chaired by the Associate Superintendent of
Schools for Secondary Education, the Principal of Newton North High School and
the Principal of Newton South High School.
The School Planning Committee included the following
members:
·
School
Committee members;
·
Members
of Board of Aldermen;
·
Representatives
from Mayor’s Office;
·
Commissioner
of Public Buildings;
·
Associate
Superintendent for Secondary Education;
·
Director
of Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development;
·
Assistant
Superintendent for Pupil Services;
·
Coordinator
of Instructional Technology;
·
Director
of Technical-Vocational Education;
·
High
School Principals (2);
·
Manager
of Support Services;
·
High
School Teachers (2 from NNHS, 2 from NSHS);
·
HS
Parent representatives (2 from NNHS, 2 from NSHS)–1 selected by school council,
2 selected by PTSO;
·
MS
Parent representatives (4);
·
Student
representatives (1 from NNHS, 1 from NSHS);
·
Representative
Middle School principal (1).
The committee met throughout
the summer and into the fall collecting and sharing information about programs,
reviewing current research on ideal school size, examining enrollment
projections provided by the school system, and touring the schools to view the
space needs first hand. In addition,
the architect’s educational consultant, New England School Development Council
(NESDEC) met with each department head at both high schools to gather first
hand information about current and projected space and program needs, and
quality of life issues. This
information was extremely helpful in informing the discussions of the Planning
Committee.
The issues identified by the
committee were sent to the department
heads at both schools for review by each department to assure that the Planning
Committee had identified the important issues.
The final list of issues were put into categories and presented at
regularly scheduled meetings of the School Committee.
To continue to provide
Newton students with an excellent high school education and resolve the problem
of overcrowding, the School Committee voted to establish two high schools of
approximately the same size. Consequently, Newton North’s enrollment will
decrease by a few hundred students and Newton South’s population will be
increase by about 600 students. The two
projects described below were conceived after much input from the High School
Planning Committee, parents, community members and faculty/staff at both high
schools, coupled with a careful analysis of the enrollment projections.
At Newton North High School,
we propose to remediate all deficient elements of the existing infrastructure,
including sitework, building envelope, handicap accessibility, seismic
restraints, plumbing, fire protection, HVAC, electrical system, interior finishes,
and asbestos abatement. Other interior
spaces will be renovated to address educational needs, with perhaps the most
noteworthy project in this area being the reconfiguration and upgrade of all
science labs. Also included is an
allowance for all necessary furnishings and equipment such as student and
teacher desks, whiteboards, file cabinets, etc. A complete list of all programmatic renovations is included in
the architect’s report.
Newton North High School
will see its student population reduced from 2200 to approximately 1900. There will be a major reconstruction of Main
Street. House offices will be expanded,
lockers will be distributed throughout the building providing more open space
on Main Street for students, the science classrooms will be totally rebuilt,
bathrooms will be modernized and the school will be made handicap accessible
through the installation of elevators at Elm Road entrance and the Hull Street
entrance. A foyer area including the addition of bathrooms will be constructed
at the entrance to the auditorium.
As with Newton South, Newton
North will receive a complete upgrade with technology. The technology infrastructure will be
constructed again providing all classrooms, administrative offices, and teacher
areas with adequate access to computers, the worldwide web and e-mail. In addition, a new telephone system will be
installed providing all teachers and office areas with voice mail and a modern
communication system.
Heating, ventilation and air
conditioning systems at Newton North High School will be completely rebuilt
with upgraded mechanical systems. The
corridors will receive enhanced lighting and the entire building will be
recarpeted. When this construction
projected is completed, Newton North High School, like Newton South High
School, will be a modern, well-equipped school with a healthy, safe environment
for learning.
At Newton South High School,
the same deficient infrastructure needs will be addressed. Significantly, the plan calls for the
addition of 122,000 sq. ft. of new construction to accommodate the student
population. In essence, Newton South
will be completely rehabilitated and made functional to educate a student
population of approximately 1,950 students.
Again, a complete list of all programmatic renovations is included in
the architect’s report.
The construction project at
Newton South will include: 25 regular classrooms, 7 additional science
classrooms as well as expanded facilities in Art, Family and Consumer Sciences,
an expanded cafeteria and auditorium, and the addition of badly needed space
for athletics and physical education. The Principal’s office will be relocated
at or near the entrance to the school.
A fourth house office will be added to the school to accommodate the
increasing enrollment.
When this construction
project is complete, Newton South will be a modern state of the art high school
fully equipped with a technology infrastructure that will allow the infusion of
technology in classroom instruction and provide students and teachers the ready
access to computers, the world wide web and e-mail. In addition, the school will be completely rewired to provide all
teachers with appropriate access to telephones and voice mail.
The older parts of Newton
South High School that were built in 1958 will be completely renovated. This includes windows, bathrooms, lighting,
heating and air conditioning. When this project is completed, Newton South will
be a well-equipped, safe and comfortable environment in which to learn. The rooms will be scheduled at an 86%
utilization that is the State recommendation.
This will release the stress on the teachers and students and provide
the needed flexibility for students and teachers.
The following tables
summarize major changes that both high schools will experience as a result of
the construction/renovation project.
Existing conditions of various items are listed in the “Before” column. Any changes, if any, that occur as a result
of the project are described in the “After” column. Please note that this is a summary and not a full accounting of
every existing condition and/or change in each school.
NEWTON SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL
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BEFORE |
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AFTER |
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Building Size |
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Building Size |
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1000
Student Capacity |
|
1950
Student Capacity |
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230,000
s.f. building |
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352,000
s.f. building |
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Academic Program |
Academic Program |
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35
General Classrooms |
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60
General Classrooms |
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9
Science Labs |
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16
Science Labs |
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2
full size Computer Labs |
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4
full size Computer Labs |
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2
Family/Consumer Science Rooms |
5
Family/Consumer Science Rooms |
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3
Industrial Technology Rooms |
5
Industrial Technology Rooms |
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3
Art/Photo Rooms |
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6
Art/Photo Rooms |
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Band/choral/practice
facilities |
Band/choral/practice
facilities |
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1
Electronic Music Lab |
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2
Electronic Music Labs |
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1
ESL Room |
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2
ESL Rooms |
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Special
Ed: |
3
Learning Centers |
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