New middle school approved for Springfield's South End

The new middle school will be located at the old Our Lady of Mount Carmel School on Margaret Street.

File photo | The RepublicanThe former Our Lady of Mount Carmel School on Margaret Street will become the site of a new Springfield public middle school.

SPRINGFIELD – The School Committee Thursday night voted to accept a proposal from School Superintendent Alan J. Ingram for a revised school boundary plan that includes the addition of a new middle school in the city’s South End.

The new middle school will be located at 36 Margaret St. in the South End, formerly Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.

Ingram said the plan decreases enrollment at three middle schools in the city and allows more students to attend schools that are closer to their homes. He said that national research shows that smaller middle schools benefit students’ achievement, their attitude toward school and their feelings of belonging.

Alan Ingram

About 260 students from the South End and Six Corners neighborhoods who currently attend Kiley Middle School will be assigned to the new middle school, Ingram said.

Other changes call for shifts in the Forest Park, Duggan, Kennedy and Kiley school zones, which will change the current school assignment next year for about 400 students.

Letters will go home to parents Friday explaining the boundary changes, Ingram said. The changes also will be explained on the school district website.