What You Need to Know��

• New Student-Centered Campus:��A new junior high school building��adjacent to��the existing high school will create a shared campus while meeting the specific needs of grades 6–8 students.��

• Focus on Inclusive Learning:��Learning neighborhoods, flexible classrooms, and inclusive special education spaces are designed to support diverse learners and teaching approaches.��

• Connection to Nature and Well-Being:��Outdoor learning spaces and abundant natural daylight promote student wellness, engagement, and academic success.��

• State and Community Collaboration:��With MSBA approval secured, the project is advancing through Schematic Design in partnership with Swansea Public Schools, the Town of Swansea, and state officials.��

• Long-Term Investment in Education:��Breaking ground in 2028 with completion in 2030, the project��represents��a lasting commitment to future-ready education in Swansea.��

Learn More��

SWANSEA, Mass.��—��Plans for a new Joseph Case Junior High School are advancing as the Town of Swansea and Swansea Public Schools move into the next phase of a long-term investment in public education. The project, which will serve students in grades 6–8, is currently entering Schematic Design��with firm Finegold Alexander��Architects��following approval of the Preferred Schematic Report by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).��

“Finegold Alexander Architects is proud to partner with Swansea Public Schools on this essential Joseph Case Junior High School project for the whole community,” said Regan Shields Ives, Principal and K-12 studio leader at Finegold Alexander. “Our mission aligns seamlessly with the school’s commitment to provide an environment for students to��engage, think, and succeed��in both their local and global communities.”����

The proposed project��represents��a major opportunity for Swansea to reimagine how educational spaces can support learning, inclusion, and community connection. The Preferred Schematic design calls for a new junior high school building��located��adjacent to��the existing Joseph Case High School, creating a shared campus that encourages collaboration while clearly supporting the unique needs of middle school students.��

At the core of the project is a commitment to student-centered learning. The design emphasizes “learning neighborhoods” tailored to the junior high school model, allowing students to feel a sense of belonging while fostering collaboration and engagement. Flexible instructional spaces are planned to support a range of teaching styles and learning needs, including inclusive special education programming.��

Access to outdoor learning areas is another key element of the project, recognizing the importance of hands-on experiences and connections to the natural environment. Classrooms and common spaces are designed to maximize natural daylight, a feature shown to support student well-being, focus, and academic performance. Safety, accessibility, and durability are also central considerations, ensuring the school will serve generations of students.��

“This new school is more than a building—it’s an investment in the future of every child who walks through its doors,” said Swansea Superintendent of Schools Scott C. Holcomb. “The project gives us the opportunity to align our physical learning environment with our educational mission and the needs of today’s students.”��

The project team recently completed the Feasibility Study phase, which evaluated multiple options for addressing the district’s space, programmatic, and facility needs. With MSBA approval secured, the project now moves into Schematic Design in close collaboration with the Town of Swansea and state officials. Community input will continue to play��an important role��as the design is refined.��

Construction is currently scheduled to begin in 2028, with the new Joseph Case Junior High School expected to open in 2030. Once complete, the school will stand as a central hub for learning and community life in Swansea, supporting a safe, diverse, and nurturing environment that encourages lifelong learning.��

As the project progresses, Swansea Public Schools and town leaders view the new junior high school as a lasting investment—one that reflects the community’s shared commitment to education, equity, and the future success of its students.��

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WEYMOUTH, Mass.—School personnel, elected officials, community members and representatives of BOND Building Construction, Inc. gathered recently for a topping-out ceremony that celebrated completion of the structural steel frame for the new Maria Weston Chapman Middle School. People cheered as the last steel beam was lowered into place, with the gathered distanced and wearing masks to ensure safety protocols were observed.

But before the new school could be built, the former Maria Weston Chapman Middle School, which was built in 1961, had to be demolished on the same footprint from which would spring the new school. Everything at the site except for the gymnasium, which is being renovated, was razed. Furthermore, demolition and new construction had to take place in a busy neighborhood, so construction personnel and school officials had to work with the surrounding community to ensure that disruption was kept to a minimum. This meant implementing noise-mitigation procedures, dust control, vibration monitoring, as well as ensuring that vehicular traffic could be rerouted where necessary.

The new 252,170-square-foot, $164M Maria Weston Chapman Middle School was designed by HMFH Architects, Inc. It will be home to nearly 1,500 students in grades 6 through 8. Modern learning amenities included in the redesigned campus include three distinct academic wings that surround centrally located “exploratory labs.” One wing will host administrative offices, music classrooms, fitness area, auditorium and a centralized kitchen space. Furthermore, the wings will all branch out from what is being called the campus’s “Town Square,” where students will dine and be able to otherwise gather.

During the topping-out ceremony, Massachusetts state Rep. Ronald Mariano (D-Norfolk) said that the Chapman school will commence a new era for the district’s schoolchildren as well as for the community.

“The impact is five times what you expect it to be,” Mariano said.

Frank Hayes, president of BOND Building, said that among his firm’s missions is to ensure that innovative and modern learning spaces will be achieved in the new school.

“This cutting-edge learning facility will offer students top-of-the-line technology that will really elevate and enhance the learning experience,” said Hayes, “and we’re excited to be part of the team creating that vision.”

“We are at our best working closely with all stakeholders to develop comprehensive plans for safety, mitigation and efficiency,” added David Capaldo, director of public education for BOND Building. “We aim to be a good neighbor to the surrounding community.”

“Our architect HMFH Architects, our owner’s project manager Hill International, and our construction manager, BOND Building, will be on time and on budget,” added Jack McCarthy, executive director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. “How do I know this? Because they’ve done this for us all over the Commonwealth.”

The new Chapman Middle School is expected to be completed in July 2022.

BOND Building, which is based in Medford, Massachusetts, has also worked on educational projects throughout New England, including at Boston University, Bryant University, Brown University, Providence College, Harvard University, MIT and Roger Williams University.

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Mayor Walsh wrote that Boston’s schools are “out of date” in an for The Boston Globe, published on the same day as the announcement. As they stand currently, 65 percent of Boston’s 127 schools were built before World War II, and fewer than half of those have been fully renovated.

Using community input and hard data gathered by the state, officials put together a 10-year BuildBPS facilities master plan. Mayor Walsh wrote that the vision includes:

• Beautiful, innovative new buildings and renovations.
• Livable, nurturing environments with fresh air, sunlight, clean water, comfortable climates, healthy and delicious food, and increased accessibility.
• 21^st century classrooms, with the furnishings and technology of modern learning, and great academic instruction with hands-on application of high-value skills geared to the careers of tomorrow.
• Partnerships with Boston’s universities, hospitals, businesses and cultural institutions to move learning beyond school walls.
• Energy efficiency programs that will unlock savings for classrooms and provide environmental benefits.
• A simpler set of grade configurations that allows for fewer student transitions and stronger school communities.
• And school sites, programs and services better matched to where students live for family convenience, transportation savings and stronger community connections.

Mayor Walsh also wrote that funding for BuildBPS would be based around a strong partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), an agency that co-funds public school capital projects in the state. Even though the city of Boston was slow to take advantage of MSBA’s help since its inception in 2004, the city finally started partnering with the organization in recent years. Boston’s Dearborn 6-12 STEM Academy, for instance, will complete construction this year, while construction on Boston Arts Academy and the Josiah Quincy Upper School is also underway — all with the help of MSBA.

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