The West Somerville Neighborhood School (WSNS) is located at 177 Powder House Boulevard in Ward 7. The school was built in 1995 to replace the old Cutler School, and the building includes a gymnasium for recreation use during inclement weather. The WSNS serves students pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
The current WSNS schoolyard is lacking quality recreation and educational opportunities and natural features. While the existing basketball and other court games provide valuable activity spaces, the expanse of cracked and uneven asphalt, and the existing older 2-5 play structure, are in need of replacement.
The new WSNS schoolyard design will encompass the existing schoolyard, the surrounding concrete walls, the current 2-5 playground area, and portions of the upper faculty parking lot, where new tree plantings and a space for the relocated dumpster will be incorporated.
The final design will be determined through a comprehensive community process and will consider school and community needs for girls’ and boys’ physical, educational, and social activity. Features will include imaginative play spaces, climbing structures, tree plantings, wall graphics, seating areas, and new lighting.
The funding for the WSNS schoolyard design was provided by the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in response to an application jointly submitted by WSNS parents and the Public Space and Urban Forestry Department (PSUF). To date, in conjunction with our team of Landscape Architects from CBA Landscape Architecture, the City has held two community meetings and several meetings with WSNS staff and representatives.
