Friends of the New Cushing Hatherly School
Building for Scituate's Future
Our Mission
We’re a volunteer organization made up of Scituate residents who believe that investing in our schools is investing in our community's future. Our goal is to inform the community about the proposal to build a new elementary school for Scituate’s students, and to get the community support to do it ahead of a special town meeting on April 29, 2024.
Project At-a-Glance
Here are the basics of the project the community should know.
A New School for Many
If approved, a new building constructed on the current Hatherly site would serve 460 Cushing and Hatherly K-5 school students along with 100 PreK students.
State-Subsidized Funding
The town's recent partnership with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) means that if approved, the project will be eligible for subsidized funding (up to 28% of costs).
Town Vote to Approve
Designs and budgets are in development. The town will vote on whether or not to fund the cost of the building during a special Town Meeting on April 29, 2024 and then at the May Town Election.
Project Background
As part of an overall roadmap for school improvements, the town identified its two oldest elementary schools (Hatherly and Cushing) as in need significant improvement to better meet education goals. The town worked with the state (MSBA), architects, and many other community members to envision possibilities and conduct feasibility studies on the best course of action. The result was a preferred design, submitted to the state for review in August 2023, that would combine Cushing and Elementary schools, while adding new Pre-K seats, in one building on today's Hatherly school site. Read more about the background and process leading up to this decision here.or visit the district's overview here.
The Vision
The vision for the new Cushing Hatherly elementary school reflects the ambitious education goals of Scituate Public Schools and a space tailored to the unique needs of our Scituate community. The proposed "Courtyard" building design (see slides 35-36) replaces what isn’t working (see slides 2-11) in today’s outdated school buildings (like deteriorating infrastructure and deficiencies delivering basic educational programs like special education and the arts) with thoughtful features that make quality learning experiences accessible to more of our students. See some of those key features below and read more about them in the FAQs.
Get Involved and Vote!
There are many ways you can help support this campaign.
VOTE YES!
We need your voice and your vote! Vote YES for the New CHS at the Scituate Special Town Meeting on April 29, 2024!
Volunteer
Want to get involved in community events? Share your contact information below and we’ll be in touch about ways you can support the campaign.
Donate
We use donations to help fund this website and to purchase yard signs, flyers, mailers, and other communication efforts. We appreciate a donation of any size. Every dollar helps!
Follow and Share
Follow @FriendsOfNCHS on IG to get updates and learn how the project is moving along, and share with friends.
Join Our List
Join our email list to stay informed and learn about you can contribute to the campaign.
