October 28, 2025
This weekend, the Arlington Public Schools celebrated a significant milestone - the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the new Arlington High School. The process for addressing the needs of the high school began in 2014, and after many years of planning and five years of phased construction, the new facility is now finished.
This building represents Arlington’s educational vision; to be an equitable educational community where all learners feel a sense of belonging, experience growth and joy, and are empowered to shape their own futures and contribute to a better world.
Encompassing 408,590 square feet, the school features:
- 102 teaching spaces (including 17 science labs) equipped to deliver modern instruction.
- Centrally located at the heart of the school, the 10,750 square foot library serves as a hub of
information, literacy, collaboration, projects, and digital technology. - The 150 seat Discourse Lab enables connection, scholarly discourse, interaction and collaboration.
- The 3,500 square feet of Makerspaces classrooms are used for creation and collaboration.
- The 850 seat Auditorium and Performing Arts wing support our award-winning ensembles as well as space for performing and visual arts.
- Three gymnasiums and three multi-sport athletic fields support the physical education program and over 30 athletic teams.
The building’s design helps Arlington make significant progress toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Among other sustainability features, solar panels produce the equivalent of the electricity needs of ~170 Arlington homes. Low flow water fixtures save ~660,000 gallons/year. The entire building runs only on electricity and uses no fossil fuels (except for chemistry lab bunsen burners). The school is one of the first Massachusetts municipal buildings to use lower ‘embodied carbon’ concrete (carbon emissions from producing the concrete). And the site has 115 bike racks and a direct connection to the Minuteman Bikeway.
I would like to thank the AHS Building Committee who, since 2016, has worked collaboratively with teachers, students, administrators and community members to produce a building that fulfills Arlington’s educational vision. Arlington High School is not only our flagship school for secondary education, but it is also a valuable community hub and multi-generational resource after school hours and over weekends. The Auditorium, athletic facilities and Discourse Lab enable our community to come together to celebrate the arts, engage in discourse and participate in and support athletics.
The new School District Offices and Menotomy Preschool are located on the high school site and Arlington Community Education and the LABBB Collaborative Program for special education are housed in the facility as well.
Owner’s Project Manager Skanska USA, designer HMFH Architects and Construction Manager Consigli USA have been professional, flexible and collaborative project partners through each phase, responding to the district’s needs every step of the way. I’m also grateful to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The MSBA has reimbursed the Town of Arlington $84.7 million out of the total $290.4 million project.
Finally, I would like to thank students, teachers and the community for their patience during this long, complex, multi-phased project. Without the Arlington community’s ongoing support and collaboration we would not be able to carry out our mission to create an inclusive and innovative learning facility for all students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth C. Homan
Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools