A Green New Deal for Boston Public Schools
We’re reimagining our schools as full-service community hubs and engines of climate resilience.
For every student and family to have access to the BPS High-Quality Student Experience close to home, we need school buildings that are safe, healthy, climate-resilient, inclusive, and inspiring. The Green New Deal for BPS is our commitment to shifting the physical footprint of our district to provide a high-quality student experience for all students by acting with urgency, transparency, and equity.
RELATED: Read Mayor Wu’s 2023 Executive Order requiring all new or renovated municipal buildings to be free of fossil fuels.
Current projects
Current projectsOur investments in Madison Park reflect our commitment to opening doors for Boston’s students into good-paying jobs in high-demand and emerging industries that are deeply connected to Boston’s economic future. In 2023, we completed a feasibility study to develop a program vision for a technical vocational high school and understand the potential of the Madison Park campus. In 2024, we brought on an Owner’s Project Manager and design team to begin translating the program vision into facilities design. In early 2025, Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper submitted a Statement of Interest to the MSBA Core Program to support the full cost of this historic investment, the largest capital project in Boston’s history, which would include the addition of a middle school. While we continue working toward a redesigned campus, Mayor Wu and Superintendent Skipper are committed to making immediate programmatic investments in Madison so that students benefit from strong CTE programs and a strong school community in the meantime. On May 13, 2025, Mayor Wu signed a historic Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Building Trades Union to guarantee apprenticeships to MP building trades graduates, secure childcare for workers, and keep BPS school building construction projects, like the MP Redesign, on track.
The Jackson Mann K-8 school closed in June 2022, and BPS has previously committed to constructing a new school on this site. In FY23, we dedicated we have dedicated $150,000 for a study to develop a building program for the design and construction of a new PreK-6 school on this site alongside the Jackson Mann BCYF Community Center and potentially the Horace Mann School. BPS will engage several Allston-Brighton school communities – including but not limited to the Lyon, the Winship, the Gardner, the Edison, and the Baldwin – to determine which schools will ultimately merge into a renovated elementary school on the Jackson Mann campus.
We are committed to moving forward with plans to build out high-quality space on the Columbia Point campus that meets the programming needs of the full Ruth Batson Academy (formerly the Boston Community Leadership Academy-McCormack) community. Phase 1 of these renovations included a $3 million investment to construct two new science labs and a life skills room and were completed in the Fall of 2022. We plan to come back to the school community with updated options for Phase 2 of building renovations, and we are proposing more than $12 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Plan to start the design process. We applied to the Ruth Batson Academy to the Massachusetts School Building Authority Core Program in 2024, and found out we have been accepted into the program.
In the spring of 2023, the Boston Public Schools Committee approved the official merger of Shaw Elementary and the Charles E. Taylor Elementary School for School Year 2024-2025. As part of the district’s Long-term Facilities Plan, this merger will allow the new school to expand access to quality academic and enrichment opportunities for all students, inclusive education settings for multilingual learners, and students with special needs. The school has also been approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Core Program to fund the design and construction of a new facility for a unified Shaw-Taylor community in Dorchester/Mattapan with a proposed $50 million in the Fiscal Year 24 Capital Plan to support the project. The MSBA has moved forward the project into the Feasibility Study which began in Fall 2025.
Updated school campus information:
- Shaw-Taylor Lower: Serves Grades K1-1 at 429 Norfolk St, Boston, MA 02124
- Shaw-Taylor Upper: Serves Grades 2-6 at 1060 Morton St, Boston, MA 02126
Co-Principals:
- Tinu Arowosegbe
- Jennifer Marks
The City is transforming White Stadium into a state-of-the-art athletic facility for Boston Public Schools (BPS) Athletics and a vibrant community hub for Franklin Park. The goal of renovating White Stadium is to establish it as a premier venue for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) Athletics Program and a vibrant community hub serving Franklin Park and surrounding communities. The rehabilitation project will expand public access from 9 weekday hours to 15 hours a day, 7 days a week. Originally constructed in 1949, White Stadium has been a vital space for Boston athletes and the community, but it now requires significant upgrades. It currently lacks the necessary facilities and amenities to serve as a comprehensive citywide resource and the true center for BPS Athletics. Through a strategic private partnership, this generational investment in White Stadium is designed to enhance its role within Franklin Park, ensuring greater public access, expanded community programming, and enriched athletic opportunities, all while respecting the historic legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design.
The City and Boston Public Schools are renovating White Stadium for BPS Athletics and expanded community use, supported by Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), who are leasing part of the redeveloped campus.
Completed Projects
Completed projectsIn the Fall of 2022, we celebrated the opening of the new Boston Arts Academy, a $137 million project supported by the City of Boston and the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The new 5-story building features a 500-seat auditorium and theater space, a black box theater, four new dance studios, visual arts studios, a recording studio, choral room, a 150-seat recital hall, 10 practice rooms, and classrooms and science labs. A roof terrace is designed for use as an outdoor classroom and performance space. The project also modified the existing streetscape by widening sidewalks and shortening crosswalks to create a safer path of travel around the building, while adding trees and street furniture to create a more welcoming environment for students and visitors. The building design is highly energy-efficient, exceeding LEED silver requirements.
In June 2022, we celebrated the groundbreaking on the new Carter School, a $92 million investment supported by the City of Boston and the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The new facility will include a therapeutic pool, sensory garden, rooftop classroom, and better space designed specifically for students with disabilities and complex learning needs. The upgraded facility will expand the Carter School’s enrollment capacity from 25 to 60 and allow for new early childhood programs. Construction was completed in June 2025, and the students moved in for the 2025-2026 school year.
We opened the Edwards building in Charlestown in Fall 2024 following major renovations. The renovated building is serving as the new home for the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HMS) community as well as the early childhood grades of the Warren-Prescott school. The renovations to the Edwards building are based on intentional design rooted in Deaf space principles to best support the HMS and Warren-Prescott communities. We will continue to explore alternative long-term site options across Boston.
In December 2022, we celebrated the raising of the last steel beam at the new Josiah Quincy Upper School facility at 900 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111. This was a significant milestone in this construction project, a $193 million facility supported by the City of Boston and the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The new 6-story facility will accommodate 650 students, and will include a rooftop outdoor classroom and activity complex, a media center, athletic and fitness areas, a black box theater, auditorium, cafeteria, and other learning and administrative spaces. The design includes a fresh air make-up system and enhanced filtration to mitigate air pollution from vehicle traffic on nearby highways. The new school building opened in the 2024-2025 school year. On March 12, 2025, the District was notified that JQUS achieved the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. This designation reflects our collective commitment and efforts to building sustainable schools. This is an incredible accomplishment as JQUS is one of only four LEED Platinum certified schools in Massachusetts, one of only three that are LEED Version 4 Platinum certified, and is one of only eight schools in the United States that are LEED v4 Platinum certified.
The proposal to combine the Philbrick and Sumner schools to become a preK-6 school located in the renovated Irving building, beginning in the Fall of 2025, was approved by the Boston School Committee on May 24, 2023. Combining the schools will consolidate resources to invest in expanded academic and enrichment opportunities and inclusion. The merged school opened Fall 2025 as the Sarah Roberts Elementary School.
Earlier facilities work to replace the boilers at the PJ Kennedy School prompted further work needed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To ensure ADA compliance, we have dedicated more than $16 million in FY23 for a large-scale renovation, including a new entranceway, playground, trees and plantings, school garden, fencing, lighting and security cameras, as well as new and renovated interior spaces. Construction is underway and is projected to be completed by School Year 2025-2026 with the ribbon cutting to take place in Fall of 2025.
Additional resources
Boston Public Schools Capital Planning Website
The Boston Public Schools Capital Planning website hosts additional information on capital projects, recent proposals, and more.
Long-Term Facilities Plan
Boston Public Schools’ Long-Term Facilities Plan and its data provide guidance for future proposals.
Capital Planning Newsletter
Find out more about our Capital Planning projects by signing up for our monthly newsletter on ParentSquare!
Schools Department Project Search
A quick and easy way to search all of the active and completed Boston Public Schools’ projects.
