Campus Development
Facilities Master Plan
Long-term plans for facility and campus development have been a focus of Tower's Board of Trustees for decades. In 1993, Tower purchased the first of eight properties adjacent to the school, and in 2006, a Facilities Master Plan was created as a guide for future investment and expansion.
TOWER'S NEW BACKYARD TO OPEN SEPTEMBER 2019
A transformative gift, designated for the installation of a turf field at Tower, enabled the School to design a premiere outdoor environment to enhance Tower’s athletic, physical education and science programs. The Backyard Project includes a turf field, two new playgrounds, a teaching garden with a greenhouse and raised garden beds, an outdoor classroom adjacent to the wetlands, and a community gathering space.
Our goal is to provide authentic learning opportunities for students, in preparation for their roles as contributing global citizens.
• A turf playing field will provide weather-resistant athletic space for games and practices as well as recess. The turf field will maximize playing time for teams and extend recess time for students. Additionally, Marblehead youth athletic programs will benefit from access to a second turf field, giving hundreds of children a dependable field for play, even following inclement weather.
The new turf field and underlay are in keeping with our commitment to sustainability––all materials are recyclable or compostable. Tower is will be working with Brock, a company based in Colorado, who will provide the shock pad and the infill for the turf. BrockFILL is made in the USA from a species of southern pine that is grown, harvested, and replanted in continuous cycles, making it ideal for a sustainable, renewable organic infill product.
• Two newly designed playgrounds for students will enhance experiential learning. Through joyful, imaginative play and physical activity, children learn about fairness, negotiation, creative thinking and problem solving within a group.
• A new teaching garden including a greenhouse and raised garden beds will allow teachers to create living laboratories for students, cultivate community partnerships through sustainable and equitable food initiatives, and equip students with important skills that strengthen learning such as observation, inquiry, the use of scientific tools (digital, analog, graphing), the ability to think systematically about how the world works, and the strengthening of solution-based work.
• An outdoor classroom will provide intentional access to the wetlands to observe and discuss systems and environmental science.
• A new community gathering space defined by the creation of a raised terrace in front of the greenhouse, will be used for assemblies, community events for families, and school-wide events such as Closing Exercises.
Project updates will be published periodically on Facebook and Instagram. We look forward with immense anticipation to the opening of Tower's new Backyard in September 2019.
To see photos from the Groundbreaking, click here.
To view drone footage of the construction from June 13, 2019, click below.
(video provided by Grant Barnum)
2018 CARPOOL LOOP AND GREEN
In 2017, we began a campus expansion project which involved removing 5 Tower-owned houses from the property in order to create an off-street carpool loop and additional outdoor green space on campus.
The results include:
- improved student safety and traffic flow within the neighborhood and along West Shore Drive
- additional recreational space and a more open and unified feel across the campus.
2017 STUDENT ART GALLERY
In 2017, our visual art department's vision of showcasing a curated collection of student art was realized when our student gathering space was renovated. Lighting, new flooring and display cases were added to create a museum-quality gallery.
2014 HEAD OF SCHOOL HOUSE
In 2014, we renovated one of the houses on Tower's property to become a home for our Head of School—an investment in our expanded campus that that also provides event and meeting space for the school.
2007 NEW CONSTRUCTION
In 2007, after the completion of a new Facilities Master Plan, we used property from the first of Tower's eight houses to allow for the building of the new Upper School and Performing Arts Center.
