Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School, the last standalone middle school in the Boston district, has closed.
The Boston Globe reports that closing the Frederick campus is part of the district's effort to address declines in enrollment in the 48,000-student district and shift students to schools that house grades 7 to 12.
Plans were first announced in 2018 to phase out middle school campuses over five years. One by one, the schools closed. By the time the Frederick’s closure came up for a vote in 2024, the community did not put up a fight.
Sixty years ago, education scholars believed middle schools could tailor education to that age group. More recently, researchers have found the damage wrought by transitions from school to school is not worth the advantages specialization provides: Achievement declines as students have to adapt to a new school.
Frederick opened in 2003 as New Boston Pilot Middle School. When Frederick passed away in 2005, the school was renamed in her honor.
Although the middle school is closing, the campus will retain the Frederick name. It will become home for a new elementary school, a merger of the Winthrop and Clap elementary schools, part of broader district efforts to have fewer but larger schools.
