George J.

Proakis, AICP
188 Florence Street
Melrose, MA 02176

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MELROSE SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGARDING THE BEEBE SCHOOL


November 17, 2019


Chairman Edward O’Connell and the Members of the Melrose School Committee
360 Lynn Fells Parkway
Melrose, MA 02176


Dear Chairman O’Connell and Members of the Melrose School Committee:

Over the past few years, the City school system has been in a mode of constant change and
adjustment. This has been caused by the unfortunate effect of a significant increase in student
population combined with a lack of financial resources. Through this time, the Superintendent
and your Committee have needed to make tough choices to keep the school system surviving
and thriving. In general, there have been impressive accomplishments in this time.
Nonetheless, our success has occurred despite the need for larger class sizes, modular
classrooms and school choice assignments that have, on some occasions, left parents
disappointed.

At this point, we have a new opportunity to continue to do great things, but with the financial
and physical resources that our elementary students need. With the funding from the override,
continued new economic growth in Melrose, and the availability of the Beebe School building,
we can create a better elementary school program that will ensure success for our students for
many years to come. Therefore, the decision that we make now, about how to use all of our
elementary school buildings, will likely have impacts for decades. If done right, it will allow the
community to enhance the school experience for all students for many years.

Therefore, with this monumental decision in front of us, we need to consider how we will solicit
input and make such a decision. The Superintendent has proposed two options for the Beebe
School, but through conversation with parents and community members, I think there are at
least five options that are worthy of consideration and a sixth option (that I will outline at the
end of this letter) that is likely the best option of them all.

The five available options are:
1. Pursue the administration-recommended solution of having two Pre-K/K programs and
moving all kindergarten programs out of the other five elementary schools.
2. Open a new full K-5 school at the Beebe in the fall of 2020.


 3. Open a partial K-5 school at the Beebe in 2020 and populate the school as classes move
forward. Begin 2020 with two Kindergarten classes (from 2020 school choice selections)
and two 1st Grade classes (with the current Franklin Kindergarten students plus any
voluntary transfers from other schools). Continue to populate the school with new
Kindergarten classes as these classes move through the system.1
4. Add to option 3 two more classes in each of the 4th and 5th grades by moving one of
each grade from the Lincoln and Roosevelt School along with approximately ¼ of the
students in each grade from each school (plus any voluntary transfers from other
schools if there are any)2
5. Open the Beebe as some type of magnet school. Some parents suggested a STEM-
focused school. I think it would be worth considering a bi-lingual program like
Somerville and Framingham currently run. The bi-lingual program allows elementary
students to finish 5th grade with proficiency in English and Spanish.

A few other ideas have been suggested (consolidating 5th grade or 6th grade for example), but I
don’t think they work from a practical basis.

My own opinion is that the Beebe should be a K-5 school. In general, I think that is the best
option to help facilitate the return (as much as is possible) to neighborhood schools in Melrose.
There are a number of substantial benefits to having walkable neighborhood schools in a city. I
believe that many parents move to Melrose because of our walkable community and the
placement of our schools that puts most Melrose homes within a short walk of an elementary
school. Many of these parents are surprised to find out, after purchasing a house in Melrose,
that they need to bid for a spot in that nearby walkable school, and may get placed at a school
across the city.

Some communities are moving further away from the neighborhood model. Some, including
Tewksbury and Bourne are creating more stratification by grade (i.e. K-2 schools and 3-5
schools)– requiring more transitions for students and creating more and more situations where
parents have to shuttle kids from one part of the town to another. Other cities are building
mega-schools with huge student counts – a program that is contrary to our substantial efforts
to provide learning communities with strong parent and student ties. Melrose has resisted
both of these so-called trends, and I believe it is for the better. Our system of neighborhood
schools makes our community stronger.






1
The administration has indicated that this option is too costly because it would require having an administrative staff for an
undersized school for some years, but I would note that it is still less costly in the early years than Option 2, and it allows us to
add teachers at a slower rate while continuing to populate each grade with smaller class sizes.
2
If we keep exploring, we may find there are many other partial-school start-up options, but I just offer these two practical
ones for the purpose of keeping things simple.

2

Consider the research:
1. A recent study of Washington DC schools shows the top performing schools are the
ones in walkable neighborhoods3
2. Kids, especially boys, who walk to school are more active, and more physically fit4
3. Kids who walk to school likely have greater opportunities to spend time in social groups
and grow social capital.5
4. But, that’s not all – the benefits are academic as well. A 2012 Danish study concluded
that kids who walk or bike to school perform measurably better on tasks demanding
concentration for up to four hours after getting to school each day. 6

More and more research is showing that strong cities and towns have small walkable
neighborhood schools.

In my work as a City Planner, my colleagues have often expressed frustration with the old-
fashioned way of doing community outreach. They call this program the DAD system, which
stands for Decide, Announce, Defend. Community leaders make a decision for the community,
then hold a public forum where they announce their choice and then do their best to defend
the choice as the community expresses doubts about it. Often small adjustments are made to
the original proposal, but the proposal doesn’t change.

Strong cities and towns build social capital is by moving beyond the DAD system of community
outreach. This doesn’t mean losing control over technical decisions, or giving up responsibility.
But it does mean that the decision-making process is transparent, well-advertised, and includes
stakeholder involvement from beginning to end.

Right now, the Beebe decision-making process is a DAD process. While there is a “second
choice” in the discussion (the K-5 model), it is clear that the school administration prefers the
Pre-K/K program and is doing their best to introduce it to the School Committee and the
community and put it in place by December so that they can move forward with it. Indeed, the
forum scheduled for November 19th re-enforces that message. It is one single event on this
topic, and its design offers no opportunity for parents to share their thoughts and concerns
with each other. While we may collectively determine that the Pre-K/K program is the best of

3
Badger, Emily “Is There a Link Between Walkability and Local School Performance” Citylab. March 15, 2013. Accessed
November 16, 2019 on line at: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2013/03/there-link-between-walkability-and-local-
school-performance/4992/
4
Cooper, AR, Page, AD, Foster, LJ and Qahwaji, D. “Commuting to School: Are Children Who Walk More Physically Active.”
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Volume 25, Issue 4, November 2003. Abstract accessed on-line on November 16,
2019 at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14580626
5
Dunne, Jane. “The Unexpected Benefits of Walking to School.” Specialty Technical Publishers. September 20, 2018. Accessed
November 16, 2019 on line at: http://blog.stpub.com/the-unexpected-benefits-of-walking-to-school
6
Vinther, Dann. “Children Who Walk to School Concentrate Better.” ScienceNordic. November 30, 2012. Accessed November
16, 2019 on line at: https://sciencenordic.com/children-and-adolescents-denmark-exercise/children-who-walk-to-school-
concentrate-better/1379550

3

the many options that we have, there is no benefit to rushing such a decision that will have
implications for many years to come.

Despite being six months out from the override vote that put into place the funding for
reopening the Beebe School, we now find ourselves with only a few weeks to make a decision.
This short time frame is driven by the need to move forward with school assignments and
design/construction of the Beebe School for the 2020-21 school year. All of which brings me to
the sixth, and final, choice that we have. The SEEM collaborative has a lease in the Beebe
School through the Spring of 2021. While they have accepted the superintendent’s request to
look for future space, they also appear to be happy to stay at the Beebe for one more year. If
we hold off on this decision for one more year, there are many benefits, including:
• An opportunity for a real robust community conversation about our schools
• An ability to raise and retain $250,000 in rent revenue that can be put towards start-up
costs at the Beebe in 2021
• The ability to define the Beebe program before there is a need to ask parents about
voluntary or involuntary transfers
• The ability to have the insight of an incoming Superintendent and a new Mayor in this
important decision-making process.
This is balanced against one simple drawback. The placement of the current kindergarteners at
the Franklin will require one or two additional elementary level classrooms in our five
elementary schools for the 2020-2021 school year.7 But, I believe that creative minds can
figure this out. For example, we added two modular classrooms at the Winthrop School in
2017, but so far have only added one new grade-level class at the Winthrop. In the alternative,
we may be able to run a first-grade class for one year at the Franklin School, knowing that these
students will have a space in another school when the Beebe is opened next year. There may be
something I’m missing, and therefore the Winthrop or Franklin may not provide the solution we
need in the short-term. But, I’m sure there are possibilities to address the immediate situation.

Therefore, while I would like the Beebe to open as a new K-5 school, at this time I think the
entire community would benefit the most if the School Committee recommends that we wait
one more year, thereby allowing all of us to have a more successful and meaningful
conversation about the Beebe School over the next 9-12 months.


Thank you,


George J. Proakis

7
Per enrollment memo from October 29, 2019 at: https://www.melroseschools.com/district-home/school-
committee/pages/enrollment-memo-10-29-19