The two middle schools, Andrews and McGlynn, are a few hundred feet away from each other, which is strange. My best guess is that those were the buildings that were available when the school district needed to expand middle school capacity, but I'd like to hear the definitive history, if anyone has it. (I'm having trouble searching for this history.)
Posted Sep 10, 2022, 1:27 AM UTC
I went to McGlynn middle and elementary, and I remember both buildings were built in 2001. I'm also interested in hearing the reason for why they are so close!
There was really nothing on that land prior to the construction of the schools (I remember it being kind of sketchy but I didn’t go over there often before the schools were built; my parents always told me people would be waiting in the shrubbery to kidnap kids, which I’m sure was BS), and I think the city owned the land. When they sold off/closed most of the elementary and middle schools in the city they had the vision of making a large campus, and I’m sure that spot was their best/perhaps only option. FWIW, it was kind of a terrible spot from an engineering perspective. From day 1, because the schools are on kind of swampy land, they had settlement-mediated issues. And it didn’t help that they build they absolutely as cheaply as they could
It was a wonderful park and playing fields. Many people used it all the time. It wasn't "nothing" unless you don't care about outdoor recreation.
No.
Where tf did you hear this? This is not true at all.
It was a toxic industrial site where the shipyard had been. The playing fields were all built in the early 00s.
I lived here since the 80s and know about the land transfer.
You are confused or hallucinating or spreading nonsense.
I didn't "hear" it, I live nearby and have used that park since I moved here. I walked my dogs there, rode my bike through there, watched kids play little league while walking through. Though yeah, they did improve the little league fields when they finished construction.
I'm not saying you didn't live here too but you said yourself you never went into the park.
Had to do with space. They sold off a couple of elementary schools and they were made into condos. The Roberts middle and Brooks Hobbs(I think k-8) were turned into elementary. They just didn't have anywhere else to build middles so they built them there. Would've been a better location for a high school but here we are!
They took parkland and playing fields to build them. There were more playing fields (including a big softball field) and park area before.
Nope. Wrong. They did not. The area was a toxic waste zone from centuries of industrial use and was completely overgrown and fenced off for decades. The MDC ... Now DCR ... Remediated the 33 acre site and sold it to the city for $1. The park and playing fields were built as part of the remediation, flood control and schools project.
I used to watch them playing softball there when I was walking my dog! The softball field was right next to Hormel where one of the school parking lots is now. Maybe it once was years before but it wasn't a fenced off toxic waste site when it was transferred by the MDC. The liitle league fields were already there, there were tennis courts where the road is now.. Do you think they'd be playing little league in a toxic waste site?
The schools were on a toxic site. Fenced off. Overgrown. There were no fields where the schools were built. Maybe by the rink or where they built the mall.
As recent as a couple years ago, there was still a small area that was fenced off that still needed remediation. I think the soil remediation and detoxification has happened in a stepwise fashion.
Yes, just this summer they finally did - I think they capped it with concrete, and then they built a kind of labyrinth.
Yeah, here's an article about it, it took an extra year longer (article is 2021) LOL
I think it just had to do with what land was available to build on, and what was needed. I think it was also timed with Medford greatly reducing the number of elementary schools from like 12 to the current 4. I think they were somehow able to basically build the new schools at no cost to Medford after selling some of the old schools and getting boatloads of money from the state, quite a coup when you think about what we talk about for our share of any high school renovation/replacement.
One "fun" fact - when they opened the new middle schools, mayor McGlynn (after whose father one the schools is named) had a daylong celebration, with tours, a concert from the school bands, and ribbon cutting. That night, they had a fireworks display. One problem - this was October 7, 2001, not even a month after 9/11, and days after after the US started attacking Afghanistan. People absolutely shit bricks, thinking we were under attack, calling the police and 911. The mayor, superintendent, and police chief publicly apologized.
I'm too young to remember 9/11 first hand but my parents have told me that story about the poorly timed fireworks party
Ah, that makes sense. Did Medford have a big youth population drop at that time? Closing eight elementary schools seems like a big change.
There has been a gradual drop in youth population in Medford over the last 50 or so years, mostly due to household size, but also due to families moving away/demographics changes, and of course, charter schools.
In 2001, there were 4,595 total students in Medford schools, and last year there were 4024. The furthest back on the state website (https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=01760000&orgtypecode=5&&fycode=1994) is 1994, and there were 5,326.
But also, the "newer" elementary schools now average about 450 children K-5. The 11 elementary schools in 2001 were smaller, averaging 250 per, and were considered "neighborhood" schools. They probably saved on busing but paid more for staff like principals, custodians, art teachers, etc., idk.
Wait what? They opened in 2011 not 2001
https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=01760000&orgtypecode=5&&fycode=2002
Oh! Ok I'm wrong.