When the Town of Weymouth decided to build the largest middle school in Massachusetts, cost effectiveness and community equity were key drivers. With that direction, each student’s academic, physical, and social-emotional well-being became the central challenge of the Chapman Middle School project. We approached these issues from both an educational planning and an architectural design direction.

Small learning communities with teaching teams, consisting of two educators at 6th grade, and five at 7th and 8th grades, were the central planning unit. Each team also includes an embedded academic support teacher and classroom., Special education, including full immersion programs, is integrated within the teams, further providing equity and identity for all students. Teams are paired into two neighborhoods per grade, centered around a Neighborhood Collaborative Area, a project area fitted out for group work and self-directed learning. Each neighborhood, in turn, opens-up to a presentation area, for performance and sharing, and an outdoor classroom with seating, work surface and teaching wall, each shared by an entire grade.

In addition to the core curriculum, exploratory and elective classes are taught in state-of-the-art labs revolving around teaching themes: film production/broadcasting, culinary and nutrition, metal/wood fabrications, robotics lab/app development, expeditionary learning, theater and technical production, as well as music, art and physical education. These labs, aimed at sparking students’ interests and hooking them for lifelong learning, will serve as introductory feeders to the high school’s career tech programs.

The site was developed around whole-child needs and community access, with a half-mile walking circuit connecting age-appropriate play areas, a multi-use hard court, and fitness stations, planned to support the physical education curriculum.

This tour will explore how a very large school can be welcoming to students and staff, and, how that school can foster smaller learning communities, encourage meaningful collaboration among staff and students, and increase social-emotional wellness for its users.