Exciting News: A New Watertown Middle School Is Approved

Good afternoon, Watertown Public Schools community,

I am more than excited to share that last night, the Watertown City Council approved moving forward with plans to build a new Watertown Middle School.

This is an historic moment for our community. In 2017, Watertown launched “Building for the Future,” a multi-year effort to upgrade the city’s aging school facilities. With last night’s vote, all five of our school buildings will have been rebuilt or fully renovated within nine years, a remarkable commitment that very few communities would attempt. It reflects years of planning and visioning at the school, community, and city levels, and I want to share what this vote means and what comes next.

The New WMS Building

The new $110 million, four-story building will be built on the site of the current middle school. Like our other new schools, it will offer bright, open spaces for collaboration, and it is designed around grade-level clusters, reinforcing our commitment to the cluster model. Specialized programs are integrated throughout the building, reflecting our belief in inclusive education. At the heart of the building, the media center opens onto a maker studio and a learning lab designed to spark creativity and joy. There will also be a dedicated art studio with tall windows and natural light, a band and music room, and a multipurpose room for rehearsal, movement, and creative projects.

Similar to our new Watertown High School, the WMS gym and auditorium will be separated from classroom spaces to allow for after-hours community use. By building upward, the design more than doubles the property's outdoor space, from roughly 18,000 to 41,000 square feet. The main entrance will move to Bemis Street, buses and cars will have separate drop-off and pick-up loops, and on-site parking will increase to 74 spaces. 

Thanks to the city’s strong fiscal standing, years of responsible planning, and commercial tax growth, the building will be funded without a debt exclusion or override. 

WMS During Construction

During construction, WMS students will move across the street to the Moxley modular building, which housed Watertown High School from 2023 to 2026. Because the middle school’s enrollment is smaller than the high school’s, the city will be able to renovate part of Moxley for student dining and physical education. We will share more details about the transition in the coming months.

The Timeline

The architects will complete the final construction drawings through January 2027, and the project will go out to bid between February and April 2027, when a contractor will be selected.  Construction is expected to begin in summer 2027, and WMS will open the 2027–28 school year at Moxley. If all goes as planned, students will walk into the new Watertown Middle School in September 2029. As with any project of this scale, this timeline may shift due to unforeseen circumstances, and we will keep you informed along the way.

Thank You

This milestone would not be possible without the support of our city leaders, the City Manager’s office, and the countless hours of work of the Watertown School Building Committee. We are deeply grateful to the Watertown Middle School community, including students, staff, families, school leadership, and the WMS visioning group, who helped create the blueprint for the new building. Above all, we thank the residents of Watertown for their continued support of our schools and the Building for the Future initiative.

With gratitude and pride,

Dede Galdston, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools