Survey and Focus Group Input on New PK-8 School Building Released

The results of an extensive community engagement process regarding the City’s plans for a new prekindergarten through eighth grade (PK-8) School Building were shared at Monday (10/27) night’s Construction Advisory Group (CAG) meeting and are now available online.  

Over 2,400 community members shared their opinions on key questions facing the City and CAG through a survey developed by members of the CAG along with the urban planning firm, DREAM Collaborative, and City staff.  

Questions explored whether the new school should be located on the Winter Hill Community Innovation School’s (WHCIS) former Sycamore Street site or on a portion of Trum Field, and if the needs of the Benjamin G. Brown School community should also be addressed through this project. Participants also shared their perspective on what matters most for the new school as well as what other city funding priorities are most important to them.  

Among the key findings from the survey are:  

• “a clear and strong preference” not to use Trum Field for a new school building
• “survey respondents are largely split, with a slight preference for maintaining two separate schools over a new combined school.”
• Where survey respondents lived (indicated by ward) and school affiliation (where applicable) were important predictors of whether respondents expressed a preference for maintaining two separate schools or for building a combined school:
  • “Wards 4, 5, and 6 all clearly prefer separate schools, with Ward 6 (Brown School) the most in favor of separate schools. Residents of all other Wards did not take the survey in as high numbers, but survey respondents in these other Wards (1, 2, 3, and 7) clearly prefer a combined school.”
  • “Brown and Winter Hill-affiliated respondents strongly prefer separate schools. Similarly, respondents affiliated with Kennedy, and to a lesser extent those affiliated with Capuano [and] ... independent and religious schools, also prefer separate schools. Respondents affiliated with the other public schools (Argenziano, East, Healey, Somerville High, West, and Prospect Hill Charter) prefer a combined school, to varying degrees.” 

The report explores responses to the survey across key demographic categories including age, race, ward, income-level, parental status, and more.   

A series of focus groups was also conducted to provide additional insight into the “why” behind people’s preferences for the school. 

Full reports on both the survey results and focus group discussions are available on the City’s New PK-8 School Building Project Website at somervillema.gov/newpkto8.  

• Data from the survey responses is also available through the City’s Open Data Portal at somervillema.gov. 

The CAG will incorporate not only the survey and focus group findings but also a wide range of information into their final deliberations including SPS enrollment patterns, recreational space needs, district-wide maintenance needs, educational factors, community feedback, and more. They are expected to deliver their recommendation to the Mayor on the size and location of the school building this November. 

More information on this process is available at somervillema.gov/newpkto8. 

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.