HW Elementary School Project
The School Committee Voted the Preferred Design Option C3.4 on 6/6/24
The project design team has entered the Schematic Design phase of the new school project which will include the detailed budget. This will bring us to the next step: approval by the community for both the plan and the request for funds not covered by the MSBA. These votes will take place in April 2025 at town meetings and at the ballot box. If the project is approved, the proposed ribbon cutting for the new HW Elementary School will be in August 2028.
VIDEO # 1 THE MSBA OPPORTUNITY
The HWRSD has moved into the Schematic Design Phase of the MSBA process for the proposed HW Elementary School Project. Our goal is to educate all stakeholders on the process - check out the video about the MSBA Opportunity. Stay tuned for more videos.
VIDEO #2 THE EDUCATIONAL PLAN
To develop an Educational Plan, the school building committee invited community stakeholders into a visioning process to determine what a new elementary school could provide for our students. The Ed Plan provides the guiding principles, goals, and features the team uses to develop the elementary school design.
VIDEO #3: EVALUATING AND SELECTING A PREFERRED DESIGN OPTION
Using the Ed Plan as a guide, the School Building Committee studied 24 sites within Hamilton and Wenham, resulting in the evaluation of 14 design options. These options included new construction, renovation, addition, and consolidation choices. After thoroughly evaluating the 30 different criteria in five overarching evaluation categories, the selected Preferred Design Option scored the highest.
VIDEO #4 CONSOLIDATION
The new elementary school design also achieves one of the key priorities of the project: to ensure all of our students have access to the same education while keeping the class sizes the same. The site plan calls for the consolidation of all elementary students in grades 1-5 with a capacity for 740 students. This allows for more capacity than our current enrollment with room for expansion, which “future-proofs” our community’s needs.
SITE PLAN dated 9/23/24: Schematic Design is an evolutionary process and will change throughout to ensure that the final design aligns with the Educational Plan and project goals.
Questions?
Latest News & Updates
Preferred Schematic Report Submitted to the MSBA 6/27/24
SBC Voted Preferred Design Option 4/22/24
PSR Comparative Cost Estimates 4/18/24
HW Elementary School Sustainability Workshop 3/6/24
School Building Committee Qualitative Evaluation Summary - PDP Options
Preliminary Design Program Submitted to the MSBA 1/25/24
Cutler School - Evaluation of Existing Conditions 1/25/24