Newburyport, MA – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Bresnahan Elementary School in Newburyport, Mass. will take place on June 7th at 9:30 a.m.on the site of the new school located at 333 High Street. The new 112,000 square foot Bresnahan Elementary School will combine two existing schools, which separately house Newburyport’s PK-K and grades 1-3, into one building that will share its site with the community’s senior center.
Recognized for its experience in designing successful model schools, HMFH was selected to design the new Bresnahan Elementary School for the City of Newburyport after the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) invited the Bresnahan project into its Model School Program. Based on HMFH’s successful model elementary school first built in Fairhaven, Mass., the Bresnahan PK-3 building is designed for a much larger population of 760 students, allowing for a single building and comprehensive approach to elementary education in Newburyport. To accommodate more students, HMFH’s design includes 33% more classroom space than the model school to cover the needs of pre-K and kindergarten. The new school will be built on the same 17.5-acre site as the existing Bresnahan school, allowing students to remain at their schools while the new building is constructed.
“We are delighted to begin construction on our long-awaited new PK-3 school, which will create an extraordinary learning environment for Newburyport’s youngest students,” said Marc Kerble, superintendent of the Newburyport Public Schools. “HMFH’s experience with designing model schools that exceed expectations sealed the deal for us and assures us that this new school will serve us well for decades to come.”
In keeping with Newburyport’s New England feel and rich history, the exterior of the Bresnahan School is designed with brick in place of the model school’s original concrete block, differentiating core spaces and classrooms with patterning that breaks up the building’s mass. While retaining the organization of the original two-story Fairhaven model school that groups core spaces such as the cafeteria, gym, and library, Bresnahan’s three-story classroom wing is programmatically different. Larger specialized areas including faculty workrooms, conference rooms, a nurse’s suite, and teaching areas for special education and literary and behavioral specialists — previously in cramped, inadequate spaces in the existing building — are organized with classroom space on the second and third floors for individual learning and support.
Classrooms maximize exterior views and daylight, and bright colors and patterns are used throughout the school to engage students and create a special place for young children. The school features a technology rich environment that will allow the students to take advantage of the latest in educational technology.
“I am so very proud of the voters of Newburyport who understood the dire state of the Bresnahan School and supported the debt exclusion vote last June. In 15 months, our community will have a new pre-k through 3rd grade school, and we will finally provide our children with a beautiful state of-the-art facility for 21st century learning,” said Donna D. Holaday, mayor of the City of Newburyport. “My gratitude also goes to Rep. Costello and Sen. Baddour, who helped pave the way for Newburyport to be accepted into the MSBA pipeline. We are fortunate to have a strong, creative, highly skilled and responsive team with HMFH Architects, Heery International as OPM, and CTA Construction as contractor.”
The new Bresnahan School will merge two existing schools, the George W. Brown Early Elementary School and the Francis T. Bresnahan Elementary School, creating a PK–3 learning experience for the children of Newburyport. The Bresnahan School was constructed in 1955-56, with additions in 1965 and 1970. Two modular classrooms were added in 1995 and eight more in 2003. Currently, approximately 30 percent of classrooms are in the modular buildings. The City of Newburyport commissioned HMFH to evaluate the existing conditions and propose possible options for improving the school, which is in need of upgrades to ease overcrowding, address accessibility and programmatic needs, and modernize building systems to increase efficiency. A community center serving Newburyport’s senior citizens will eventually be constructed on the site of the existing school, providing a community-based complex for the City.
The Bresnahan School has been designed to achieve Mass. CHPS Verified Leader status and will receive additional reimbursement from the MSBA. CTA Construction is the general contractor on the project, and Heery International is serving as the owner’s project manager.