January 2, 2024 By Carol Britton Meyer
There’s an air of excitement among the entire Foster School community — students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other staff — on the occasion of the long-awaited opening of the new Foster School this Friday, Jan. 3.
Foster Principal Matt Scheufele, school building committee members, Hingham Public Schools officials and administrators, and the entire community share their enthusiasm.
Building Committee Vice Chair Ray Estes recently called the new $113.3 million school “one of the biggest construction projects in the town’s history.”
Calling the opening “very exciting,” Chair Linda Hill explained that the project involved a “huge group effort that couldn’t have been accomplished without everyone’s contributions, including our project manager, PMA Consultants, our architect Raymond Designs, the building committee’s more than seven years of dedicated work, school administration, Matt the school principal, all the teachers, students, and families, and the town boards who have supported this project along the way. I’m sure I have forgotten a few, but as the saying goes, ‘It takes a village.'”
Scheufele expressed appreciation to the community for its support “in getting this project to happen. This is an opportunity for students in the Foster School district to be in a setting that’s academically appropriate and will allow our educators to give our students the absolute best,” he told the Hingham Anchor. “The new learning spaces will allow us to provide the best academic experience for our students.”
Many educators, administrators, teachers, and building committee members “have put their hearts and souls into this project, and I’m the lucky guy to have arrived after all that work was done,” Scheufele said. “I want to thank everybody for helping to put us where we are today.”
Supt. of Schools Katie Roberts had this to say: “We are thrilled to welcome HPS students into the “new” Foster, a state of the art learning space this week. The project has been an incredibly collaborative effort and has come to fruition through the time and talent of so many Hingham community members, including HPS and municipal staff, elected officials, the Hingham building committee, and the broader project team. What a wonderful way to start the new year!”
‘Truly exciting to see project come to life’
This project “has been years in the making, and it’s truly exciting to see it come to life,” School Committee Chair Nes Correnti told the Hingham Anchor. “From the previous town volunteers who laid the groundwork, to the current committee members and volunteers to the community whose unwavering support made this possible, I am deeply grateful.”
Correnti called the new school “a testament to what we can achieve together. I know I’ll be smiling ear to ear when the students take their first steps inside,” she said. “It’s a proud moment for our town and a bright future for our students.”
Planning for the new school focused on taking advantage of the natural surroundings. Foster School is located on a 39-acre parcel of land, much of which consists of various ecosystems that will provide a rich outdoor learning experience for students.
Each grade level has a common area featuring a different ecosystem design. There’s also a hand-painted three-story ecosystem mural.
Longtime Foster School parent Lindsay Sullivan — with a son in 7th grade at the middle school who attended Foster and a daughter in 4th grade who will enter the new school for the first time on Friday — shared her thoughts about the new school.
“I think everyone in town is familiar with the problems at the old building — frequent heating/boiler breakdowns, water leaks, tandem classrooms, not enough space for the entire school to gather, among others,” Sullivan told the Hingham Anchor.
“The new build has brought its own set of challenges to the school — one of the biggest being the very limited outdoor space which has really changed recess for the students and made it challenging to get enough outdoor play time so critical for elementary aged kids,” she said.
‘Some of the best and most caring educators around’
With all this said about Foster School, “the people inside the walls are some of the best and most caring educators around. We have one of the most special, tight-knit school communities — from our amazing teachers, staff, and administration to our PTO, parents, and students,” Sullivan shared. “Foster is a really unique place, and it’s so wonderful that we now will have a beautiful and innovative school building that matches the people inside.”
According to Sullivan, Scheufele has done “an incredible job leading the school through a chaotic time, with lots of unknowns and unforeseen obstacles. We have been so lucky to have him as a sturdy leader for our school community.”
In addition, she said, ” the teachers have thoughtfully used the building process to teach their students about the need to be resourceful and resilient, knowing that something better was around the corner for them. My 4th-grader is absolutely thrilled to walk through the doors on Friday!!”
Other features of the new school include shade trees, an accessible path through the play spaces, additional parking, a community garden, and expanded Pre-K and special education programs, among others.
To date, the Massachusetts School Building Authority has reimbursed the town $20.6 million under it’s partial reimbursement program — with an expected additional $4 million to come over time.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the community will be held at a later time upon project completion.
