August 19 2025

Thank you for signing up for the Pollard Middle School Project email list. We will be sending out periodic updates and reminders as the project progresses, and we appreciate your ongoing involvement and input. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in learning more about the project.

The Pollard Middle School Project website is your best source for background on the project and up-to-date information. The site will continue to be updated as the project moves forward in the coming months. Included on the site:

• Project Timeline

• Past Meetings and Materials

• Event Calendar

• FAQs

• Project Team

We have been receiving input and questions from community members, and these are a few that have been on people’s minds recently:

High Rock as a “6th grade center” was viewed as a temporary fix almost 18 years ago when the School Committee authorized its use due to space constraints at Pollard. It was economical to make use of an existing building, but it has never fully fit the needs of our 6th grade students.

Because High Rock was originally built as an elementary school, the classrooms, cafeteria, and gymnasium are all undersized relative to current middle school standards. Growing population needs have also led to a decrease in special education space and programming — some students with special needs do not attend High Rock at all, instead starting their sixth-grade year at Pollard.

During the study for the School Master Plan, it was determined that fully meeting capacity and programmatic needs at High Rock as a permanent sixth-grade center would require an addition of approximately 15,000 square feet.

In addition, while the educational program at High Rock has been good for students and widely supported by the community, we have also learned that disrupting the middle school experience by separating 6th graders from 7th and 8th graders has some drawbacks, including:

• Inefficient use of programs, staff, transportation, and other resources

• Increasing transition issues with an extra move between 6th and 7th grades

• Curtailing the 6th grade educational experience due to elementary-designed space that limits the curriculum and program

• Losing the opportunity for 6th graders to develop the skills and maturity that are modeled by older peers in a mixed-aged setting

While it would make the Pollard project smaller and therefore less expensive, the cost of addressing all of the needs identified in the School Master Plan across the district might in fact increase. If 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

• Possibly putting an addition on Eliot (depending on updated enrollment projections)

Community Meeting: What We're Hearing

Wednesday, September 10 at 6:30pm at Pollard & on Zoom
Community Meeting: What We're Hearing

Saturday, October 4, 9:00-10:30am at Pollard
Pollard Open House: Tours and Q&A

Thursday, November 6, 6:30pm at Pollard & on Zoom
Sharing Preliminary Plans & Gathering Additional Feedback

Saturday, November 15, 9:00 - 10:30am at Pollard
Pollard Open House: Tours and Q&A