A new Peck Middle School is being constructed on the same footprint where it was torn down. The new school with be state-of-the-art and implement the newest best practices for educating students in grades 6-8 grades. It is scheduled to be completed by 2025, and will cater to students in the STEM and Metcalf location. Dual learners will continue at the Sullivan school, where upgrades have been made such as new windows and doors.

From Jennie Oesterreicher, director of Communications for the Holyoke Public Schools:

“Yesterday on March 8, Mayor Joshua García and Superintendent Anthony Soto—along with members of the Holyoke City Council, School Committee, and School Building Committee—participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new middle school building.

“They were joined by Mary Pichetti, executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, representatives from the Offices of Senator John Velis and Representative Patricia Duffy, and students and staff who will be assigned to the new middle school when construction is completed.

“We’ve been working together for years to get to this important day, where we are breaking ground on a new middle school building for Holyoke students,” said Mayor Joshua García. “This project shows our city’s commitment to our young residents and the hope we have for our collective future.”

The new middle school is an important component of Holyoke’s efforts to strengthen learning opportunities and reimagine the middle school experience. The new building will replace the poorly designed, energy-inefficient Peck Middle School that no longer met the needs of a modern education.

“Today marks a big step forward towards offering a well-lit, well-designed, engaging learning environment for middle school students,” said Superintendent Anthony Soto. “A building like this will provide the infrastructure for us to achieve one of our core beliefs that school is a joyful place of discovery, support, and belonging.”

Erin Brunelle, vice-chair of both the Holyoke School Committee and School Building Committee, has been a supporter of the project throughout the planning process. “This new middle school building will offer so much of what students and the community have said is important to them,” she said. “The classrooms are sufficiently sized for collaborative learning and positioned to create a team environment at each grade level. Technology investments will support student learning and help prepare them for a technology-driven society. The gym and fitness area will be available for community-based programming in the evenings and on weekends. This is the type of learning environment we want for all students.”

The $85.5-million project was officially approved in June 2023 by the City of Holyoke and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Of the total $85.5 million costs for demolishing Peck and building a new middle school, the City of Holyoke is responsible for paying approximately $27.1 million and the MSBA will reimburse approximately $58.4 million. Currently, the estimated project costs are under-budget.

“As I expressed when the City Council voted to support the new middle school last June, I appreciate the inclusive approach that was taken so we could support a new middle school at a price the city could afford,” said Holyoke City Councilor Kevin Jourdain, who is a new member of the School Building Committee. “I am also pleased that the Massachusetts School Building Authority decided to give Holyoke a larger grant in order to ease the financial strain that important investments like this have on urban communities. I am confident that, as we go through construction, we will continue to find ways to build a high-quality school at an affordable price.”

Representative Pat Duffy, through her spokesman and Ward 6 City Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos,  is also appreciative of the MSBA’s support of Holyoke throughout the entire process. “I want to congratulate Holyoke leaders, staff and families for working together to build a new middle school that will serve our community for decades to come,” she said.

Fontaine Bros. is the general contractor for the new middle school building. Fontaine Bros. was the lowest qualified bidder out of seven companies that were pre-qualified to submit bids. Since their founding in 1933, they have built numerous schools in the Pioneer Valley, including schools in Holyoke, Chicopee, Granby, and Springfield. Mount Vernon Group Architects is the design firm and Anser Advisory is serving as the Owner’s Project Manager. American Environmental completed the demolition and site preparation.

The project timeline includes the following key steps:

• March 2024: Construction begins.

• Later in 2024: Select a name for new school building, with the process to be led by a subcommittee of the School Committee

• 2024-25 school year: Identify staff to be assigned to the new school; plan for successful opening of the new building

• Spring 2025: Communicate with students and their families who will attend the new school

• Fall/Winter 2025: New school opens

More information is available on the district website: www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/page/new-middle-school.”