Growth a prevailing theme as new middle school officially opens
Though students began attending the new school in February, the ceremony marked the building’s formal debut to the wider public.
Afternoon light poured through the tall windows of The Ellen Garrison Building at Acton Middle School’s main entrance, illuminating a soaring lobby. Through the rear windows, a view of the woods beyond.
Inside, visitors wandered past towering photo collages. On one side, scenes of students laughing in classrooms, performing, and huddling in the hallways. On the other, official yearbook portraits.
Together, the panels read: “We are united.” It’s the first message visitors see before stepping into the heart of the building.
Though students began attending the new school in February, this month’s ceremony marked the building’s formal debut to the wider public. It was a chance to roam the halls, peer into classrooms, and reflect on the six-year effort that brought the $110 million project to life.
One student’s story
Ayden Henry, an eighth grader, was among those who helped shape the new school as part of its Student Building Committee. In a speech at the ribbon cutting, he recalled his first planning meeting as a sixth grader and how members marked their heights to see how much they would grow by the time the building opened.
“But instead of telling you how much I have grown in height,” Ayden said, “I want to share with you how I have grown as a person these last three years.”
He said he’s learned that he doesn’t need to ask for help when he knows a task is “really, really, really easy.” He’s become more open and willing to talk to others. And, he added with candor, he’s “still learning how to control my emotions on certain things.”
“I know this building will help many other middle schoolers grow, too,” Ayden said.
Middle School Principal Justin Cameron — who joked he’d also grown about 4 inches since the start of the project — said they were fortunate to have students who cared so much about the new school.
“They really impacted the design and scope of all of this work,” he said.
In addressing the attendees, Superintendent Laurie Hunter said the building was a testament to Acton’s unity as people came together to “manage the challenges” that arose, including “a pandemic and historic inflation.”
‘The town has grown up’
Ayden wasn’t the only one reflecting on growth. Several parents and longtime residents said the school’s construction — and the years of planning, debate, and collaboration that came with it — changed more than just the building’s footprint.
Checking out the new library, Select Board member Paul Boehm told The Acton Bridge: “I think the town has grown up. A lot of things have happened these past six years, all to the better. And I think that’s a great success story.”
Boehm referred to the public conversations that surrounded the school, including debates over escalating construction costs and the eventual decision to name the building — but not the whole school itself — after Ellen Garrison, a 19th-century Acton-born Black educator and civil rights activist.
Longtime Acton resident Connie Levine, who backed naming the school for Garrison, said she was struck by the building’s design, especially the abundant natural light.
Levine said she appreciated the prominent signage out front with the building’s name, but hopes to see more of Garrison’s presence in the future. “We want to bring Ellen into the school — more signage showing who she was and why she was important to name the school after,” she said.
An eye to the future
Kirsten and Chris Holmes excitedly pointed at a photo included in one of the large collages on the wall. It showed one of their neighbors, a child their 6-year-old daughter knows, and they were eager to point it out to her.
The couple lives just up the street in a home they moved into a little over a year ago. With their daughter now in the school system, they’ve closely followed the construction of the middle school.
When the school officially opened to the public, they had to take a look.
“It’s been really fun. We drive by here every day, so it’s been sort of like a family activity to just keep track of the progress and see all the things happening,” Chris Holmes said.
And they, too, had growth in mind: that of their daughter in their new home and eventually in the new school.
“We’re really excited for her to enjoy this place, to learn and grow here in the future,” Kirsten Holmes said.
