NORWOOD – The Town of Norwood would like to invite community members to participate in upcoming tours of the current Coakley Middle School building.
In 2017, the Norwood Public Schools completed a district-wide facility study to review the elementary and middle schools. Building performance, such as needed capital repairs; functional performance, such as enrollment numbers and overcrowding; and educational performance, such as existing learning spaces were the criteria used to evaluate each building.
The Coakley Middle School was identified as the school with the most building deficiencies. The current Coakley building is overcrowded and is in need of additional educational space for general and special education. Portions of the school lack natural lighting, require changes for accessibility compliance, and the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems are aging and require updates for code compliance. The building would also benefit from hands-on learning spaces and dedicated teacher collaboration spaces.
Residents are encouraged to attend any of the scheduled tours to learn about the current building conditions and deficiencies, and learn about the improvements and design components expected of the proposed new building.
“These tours are an important opportunity for Norwood residents to see our current middle school building and the deficiencies we plan to address with the proposed new building, as well as understand the value these improvements will bring to our district and our students’ educational experience for years to come,” Superintendent Thomson said.
Coakley Middle School tours are scheduled for:
- Saturday, March 5 from 10:30-11:45 a.m.
- Monday, March 7 from 5:45-6:45 p.m. This tour will be followed by Community Forum #9 at 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 16 from 6-8 p.m.
- Saturday, March 19 from 10:30-11:45 a.m.
- Saturday, March 26 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Registration is not required, and multiple brief tours will be led through the building during each time window.
About the Project:
The proposed new Coakley Middle School would open in 2025 for approximately 1,070 middle school students. The town is currently in the Schematic Design Phase of the project, which will establish the final Project Scope and Budget.
Norwood residents will vote on the project’s associated Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion at Town Meeting on Monday, March 14, and again in a ballot vote on Monday, April 4.
Learn more about the project including the building’s existing conditions and plans for a new building, and subscribe to receive email updates at newcmsproject.org.
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