The Amigos school is one step closer to its relocation to Spring Street, after Superintendent David Murphy formally recommended the move at Thursday night’s special meeting of the School Committee. The move now awaits a final committee vote, expected next week, which if approved, could significantly expand access to one of the district’s highest demand schools, and its only pre-K-8 dual-language program.
Murphy recommended that the Amigos School be relocated to Spring Street by the Fall of 2028, after an expected $14 million to $18 million in renovations. In the new building, the district will increase enrollment annually for three to five years after the building’s opening until it reaches capacity. Amigos has 418 students, while the Spring Street building has capacity for 650.
The potential for a larger student body was a plus for Priscilla Allen, who has two kids at Amigos. “Being able to bring in more students from the waitlist is a huge opportunity,” Allen said.
Members of the School Committee and Amigos staff praised the school’s tight-knit community, its Spanish dual-immersion program and its performance outcome data, which improved the most of any district school on this year’s state testing data.
Murphy, too, spoke highly of the school during his presentation.
“I’m thankful to the Amigos (community) for helping us to make this argument by being such a strong school,” Murphy said. “And I believe that if this recommendation is approved, you’ll be an even stronger one in the future.”
Committee members were largely in support of the relocation. Committee Member Richard Harding called it a “promise kept” to the East Cambridge community and Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui said it is a “great opportunity.”
Expanding access
The Amigos School has the second-lowest percentage of high-need students out of all the district’s schools, at a little over 38%. The Baldwin School has the lowest high-need student population, at 31%. (The district uses high-need as an umbrella category for students who have disabilities, are English-language learners or are low-income.)
Committee Member Luisa de Paula Santos asked Murphy about district plans to boost high-need enrollment in the new Amigos building. Reevaluating the district’s school choice system, particularly its socioeconomic status (SES) metrics, may be a part of the solution, Murphy said.
Socioeconomic status is considered alongside other factors like geographic proximity and family preference when a student is placed in a district school. Although more than 80% of families receive their top choice school, the demographic of families that do not get their preference is disproportionately low-income, Murphy added.
The school’s new geographic location may also give residents of East Cambridge a better chance of being placed at Amigos, as will its expanded capacity.
Part of the superintendent’s recommendation is to increase enrollment at the new Amigos building year-by-year, which he said would allow the district to provide additional staffing to the school over time.
“We would need a [paraprofessional] with a teacher for each classroom that we add. The paras are very important linguistic models in addition to the classroom teachers,” said Sarah Marrero, Amigos School principal, on what staffing would be required in a larger school.
Parent excitement, renovation concerns
Amigos parents reached by Cambridge Day were pleased by the prospective newer building.
“I’m excited that we’re getting close to a final decision, because I think it has been very stressful for all the communities involved to live with uncertainty,” said Paola Rebusco, who has a fourth-grader at Amigos. “I think it’s great for the Amigos community, for East Cambridge, and for the city at large.” Rebusco lives in East Cambridge and her child attended preschool at the former Kennedy-Longfellow School.
The district is renovating the Spring Street building’s HVAC system, replacing windows and upgrading its plumbing and electrical infrastructure. Upgrades to community spaces such as the auditorium, cafeteria and lobby, though their scope will depend on available funds.
Priscilla Allen said she is worried about whether the renovations will be finished by the start of the school year in 2028. Rebusco said that she hopes the district keeps families apprised about the status of the work.
Member Harding requested new seats in the Spring Street auditorium, which Murphy said is in the plans. “My parents sat in those same seats that are in that building now,” Harding said.
Future of Upton Street building
Murphy also referenced the issues with the Amigos School’s current home at Upton Street, which is overcrowded and in need of significant physical updates.
“There are significant facility deficiencies that, regardless of what we were to do, it would require some level of capital investment,” Murphy said.
As an example of the limited outdoor space at Upton, Steven Rodenas, a fifth and sixth grade social studies teacher at the school, said that at recess Thursday, “I saw a frisbee flying over a football while some kids were trying to play soccer.”
Allen said overcrowding at the Upton Street building’s cafeteria means lunch periods are staggered, and that she’s excited for her child to not have “lunch at 10 o’clock in the morning.”
It is unclear how the district will use the Upton Street building after the Amigos move. Murphy mentioned it could accommodate preschool programming as part of a network of early-learning centers, which had been a possible option for the Spring Street building. Upton Street was also discussed as a potential new home for the High School Extension Program.
The School Committee will likely vote on the 158 Spring Street decision at its next regular meeting on Oct. 20, and planning for the relocation will begin this fall.
A stronger
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