Rendering courtesy of Worcester Public Schools
The $325 million project began in 2019 as part of the city’s initiative to rebuild its schools.
After six years of planning and more than two years of construction, Worcester, Mass.'s brand-new Doherty Memorial High School is on track to finish in time for the 2024 fall semester.
A Worcester Public Schools spokesperson told MassLive that the $325 million project began in 2019 as part of the city's initiative to rebuild its schools. The current structure, located at 299 Highland St., will be demolished after the new facility is built.
On April 5, the project's managers, Lamoureux Pagano Associates Architects (LPPA) in Worcester, gave a tour of the school to the city's elected officials and Doherty Memorial faculty to present what the new school will offer to the 1,600 students set to attend.
The tour featured walkthroughs of the building and its new features, including a media center, a black box theater, a music center and large classrooms designed to accommodate many students.
Christina Bazelmans, the associate principal for LPAA, told MassLive the classrooms and labs were built to be large to promote flexible, hands-on working environments. As a result, she said students who take classes will be able to move equipment from one station to another rather than occupying one lab station at a time.
"This classroom is established and flexible so that teachers can teach any science whether or not the curriculum changes," Bazelmans explained. "It's designed to be flexible so that we can change and shift as the curriculum adjusts."
Additionally, all the classrooms at Doherty Memorial will be ADA-compliant with technology installed for students with learning disabilities. In particular, the design of the classrooms will be most helpful for those with hearing disabilities, as each classroom contains a Bluetooth speaker that can connect to a hearing aid.
"Everyone is on the same playing field," she said in speaking with MassLive. "Building schools is all about building equity."
Other features highlighted on the tour were the new gymnasium, clinic space located downstairs and an auditorium where more than 800 students can be seated at a time.
New School Is An Amazement to Many
As he walked through each room, Worcester Mayor Joe Petty said he was impressed with the speed of construction.
"This was worth every dime," he noted. "[The school's construction] was a priority for me when I became mayor in 2012."
Other elected officials, such as Molly McCullough, a Worcester School Committee member, were surprised by the project's scope. She said she was especially impressed with the new music room — a large classroom with built-in working acoustics for lessons.
"This brings us into the 21st century," she said. "This is truly a modern educational facility for our students."
While elected officials expressed their amazement at the new facility, Doherty Memorial High School Principal John Staley told MassLive the new building's greatest achievement will be bringing more students back to the school.
In recent years, he explained, enrollment at Doherty Memorial has dropped as students choose to attend South High School and Worcester Technical High School because of their larger facilities.
With the new high school building, though, Staley believes the enrollment rate will begin to rise as more students become interested in attending due to the new facility's modern features.
"This building will allow our staff to not have to find creative workarounds for doing [various] types of activities and labs," he said. "It just allows you to do it more effectively now."
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