By Dakota Antelman – [email protected]
The Peabody and Sanborn buildings of Concord Middle School needed frequent maintenance, lacked adequate space, and were out of step with modern teaching methodologies, district leaders say.
But ahead of the transition to the new Ellen Garrison Building at CMS, some students still had mixed feelings about the move. Some are extolling the old schools’ one-of-a-kind features. With Sanborn set for demolition, residents are also floating ideas for Peabody’s next act.
“It’s utterly unique,” Concord parent Don Batsford said of the Sanborn school during a February 15 Surplus Day event.
Unique layout
Sanborn opened in 1966 and was named after Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, an abolitionist author who once lived in Concord.
Peabody opened three years later as an overflow space for Sanborn. Officials named it for Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, who helped create the first public kindergarten in the U.S.
In 2004, as enrollment crept up, district leaders started parking modular classrooms at Sanborn to boost capacity. By 2019, officials said it was time to ditch the two-building model and consider a new middle school.
The new CMS is a stone’s throw from Sanborn. If not for a pile of soil related to construction, it would be visible from the old school’s windows.
Eighth grader Jack Reed will end his middle school experience with just over three months of classes at the Ellen Garrison Building. Despite the upgrades, he said “it’s a little pointless” to make a midyear switch. He said Sanborn’s antiquated layout is a perk, not a downside.
“Some classrooms are just in random spots,” he said. “There’s a lot of weird closets. It’s just different than a high school.”
Seventh grader Joey Daniel said he’s sad to lose the lockers that line Sanborn’s halls. School officials said the old lockers were in inconvenient areas and rarely used, but Daniel said he still parked his jacket in his locker.
The new CMS has small lockers in sixth grade areas, but none for seventh and eighth graders. “I don’t like the fact that we don’t have lockers,” Daniel said. “Otherwise, I’m excited.”
‘Important … to move on’
“A new building is needed,” middle school parent Scott Moore said.
And although Anne Remington no longer has students at the middle school, she said she supported the CMS project “at every stage.”
“It was just important for Concord to move on and do what we needed to do for that age group,” she said.
On a recent “Surplus Day” that allowed visitors to take home furniture and other goods from the closing school buildings, Remington spoke with The Bridge inside a Peabody teacher’s lounge where 1960s wood paneling covered the walls.
Decades after construction, officials said Peabody and Sanborn’s floor plans hampered some modern educational strategies, including team teaching. “Everything’s different from when these buildings [were built],” she said, “even if they weren’t falling apart.”
Peabody uses
Crews will demolish Sanborn to make way for new athletic fields. With Peabody’s long-term fate still to be determined, Remington said she hopes officials will keep the property for town use.
The School Committee has voted to hand Peabody to the town. Before the town can sell the site or repurpose it, voters must formally accept it at Town Meeting.
Concord resident and CMS alumni Christina Stetson wants to see low-income elderly housing on the Peabody property. Her friend and fellow CMS grad Hannah Polakoff suggested creating housing there for refugees or other immigrants.
As for student feelings, principal Justin Cameron and schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter said they’re aware that some might feel anxious or uncertain about the move.
Staff organized tours to help students familiarize themselves with the new building. Moving from the old schools to one new building, Cameron said students will also always have support.
“I truly believe we are a special school regardless of our older buildings,” he said.
“The heart of that is the relationships that faculty and staff have with our students, and that is certainly going to be [true] in the new building as well.”
This story has been updated.
