On Wednesday morning, June 4, a group of about thirty parents, children, construction staff, teachers, City Councilors, and School Committee member Emily Prenner joined Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and School Superintendent Anna Nolin at the long-awaited groundbreaking for the new addition to the Horace Mann School at 225 Nevada Street.
The event marked the end of six years of anger and protest at the removal of the Horace Mann Elementary school community from its much newer building at 687 Watertown Street to the former Carr School — and the fight to have the City remedy inadequacies of the Carr School. The relocation, without community input, had occurred when the Watertown Street building became the site of the Newton Early Childhood Program. Parents, teachers, and children were moved from a school built in 1966 to one built in 1934 that was closed as an elementary school in 1984.
Although the Nevada Street building had been in use for a variety of community activities and was remodeled as a “swing space” school while other schools were undergoing new construction, the classrooms were well below the space requirements of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). In addition, the building had the smallest library in the system and inadequate cafeteria space. According to Chris Esmonde, a Horace Mann parent and organizer of the Horace Mann Community Action Committee, the rooms were also extremely noisy and designed for one teacher at the head of the classroom — not conducive to small-group instruction that is the hallmark of today’s classrooms.
Mike Feldstein, a retired Horace Mann teacher, was also instrumental in pushing for a new building. He told Fig City News, “We so appreciate the hard work that many people have done to get us to this point. But let’s not forget that while those most responsible for the negligent, avoidable decision to move us here in 2019 are working elsewhere or retired, the Horace Mann community is still paying the price. After spending six years in this inadequate facility, the students and staff will be packing up, spending a year in a less desirable building (the former Lincoln Eliot), and finally after a 7-year fiasco, moving back to our updated, larger permanent home.” Both Mr. Feldstein and Mr. Esmonde noted that the Horace Mann construction had been repeatedly displaced on the city’s Capital Improvement Plan by other projects across the city.
What will the new building offer the Horace Mann community? According to Joshua Morse, Newton Commissioner of Public Buildings, the addition will be 26,229 square feet, a new fully accessible playground, six new classrooms, a music room, kitchen, cafetorium (cafeteria and auditorium), literacy room, after-school space, small breakfast space, special education space, “and much more.”
The school’s cafeteria will be converted to a new library — the first space people will see as they enter the building. In addition, all the current classrooms will be adapted to meet MSBA standards. There will be grade-level classroom clusters and breakout spaces, an improved gym, and common areas. The illustrations and schematic represent the new addition and outside work.
Mayor Fuller has acknowledged that the City made a mistake in moving the school without meeting its needs. At the groundbreaking, she and Horace Mann principal, Mark Nardelli, were upbeat and celebratory. Superintendent Nolin emphasized the importance of cooperation and collaboration among NPS, the City, and the school community. Principal Nardelli, who won high praise from Mr. Esmonde, struck a positive note about the project’s anticipated 2026 completion. Horace Mann students, with hard hats and shovels, joined in the ground-breaking — coached by Mayor Fuller — and seemed delighted in their contribution to the celebration.
Horace Mann was a 19th-century advocate for free public school who lived in Newton. Hundreds of schools across the country have been named in his honor.
Mr. Esmonde said, “There should be equity across the city.” He said that he and others moved here because of the schools and had been disappointed that it had taken so long to upgrade the Horace Mann School. He praised members of the Horace Mann Community Action Committee – Michael Haueisen, Phil Grgurich, Alec Zimmer and Julia Gaebler – for their dedication and support.
John Oliver, an at-large City Council member and former Horace Mann PTO president prior to the school’s relocation, has been a strong advocate for the new addition. After attending the groundbreaking ceremony, he told Fig City News, “The road to this groundbreaking was way too long, way too contentious, but that is behind us now. The Mayor and team have committed to Horace Mann — a school building that this community should be proud of. I know we are all excited to welcome our students back in the new building when the work is complete.”
