Your Way to School
Who We Are
Save Small Schools HW is YOU. Hamilton and Wenham residents who have just moved here or lived here for decades for the same reasons everyone does. Loving a small New England town close to everything good. We value the peace, quiet, close community feel, and our slower pace of life. It’s about our neighborhoods and our neighborhood schools. Lifelong friendships and unbreakable bonds. We seek to maintain our rural, small-town character. Bring back fiscal responsibility to our town budgets. We believe maintaining our three small neighborhood schools is the key to preserving all that we love about our two small towns. Your voice matters. Your town, your vote. Your way to school!
Save Small Schools HW (SSSHW) is not affiliated with, nor accepts donations from the national or Massachusetts Republican, Democrat or Libertarian Party. SSSHW receives no donations from private citizens or businesses.
The Poll
The Hamilton Wenham Regional School District voted to pursue a $142M 120,000+ square foot, 745-student consolidated elementary school at the Cutler School in Hamilton. This vote was taken despite continued, vehement, vocal opposition from residents and after a professionally conducted, scientific poll showed Hamilton-Wenham residents OVERWHELMINGLY oppose a big elementary school. Once residents become aware of the proposed school’s impact to their taxes and our community, by a significant margin, Hamilton and Wenham residents overwhelmingly rejected the consolidated school, and the more they learned about it the less they liked it.
What People Are Saying
Feedback from Residents
“A school that size should NEVER be built on a property that small. The fact that they are even considering building a monstrosity on less than 11 acres is unbelievable to me. No place to add on with 3A increased student population, so classroom numbers will get larger and larger. What happens in the event of a natural disaster? Evacuation plans? Street will be unpassable/driveable."
Summary of the Financial Crisis
A letter was recently published in HWNews, which sums up Wenham’s financial crisis.
Save Our Small Schools!
Small schools make the best schools. They provide educational excellence. They foster a stronger sense of belonging, integration and acceptance for all students. Over 60 years of research shows that the smaller the school the better the learning experience and the greater the benefits for our children. They learn more, feel safer, and express a feeling of connection and belonging. Dozens of studies show the benefits of small schools. Small elementary schools with 250-350 students provide a superior learning experience and a better learning environment resulting in higher test results and ratings. Small schools are safer. Teachers know each and every student and their families. Small schools provide a stronger community for families, teachers, and administrators. Our youngest learners deserve to feel cherished and loved in a learning environment that fits them.
Visit this site for a collection of articles that describe the advantages of small schools
Selected References
Contact Us
Save Small Schools HW (SSSHW) is not affiliated with, nor accepts donations from, the national or Massachusetts Republican, Democrat or Libertarian Party. SSSHW does not fundraise and receives no donations from private citizens or businesses. SSSHW is not a committee. Per the Office of Campaign Finance Planning: The Ballot Committee Question Law does not attach itself to activity at Town Meeting and no filing is necessary. SSSHW seeks only to educate and inform and is a call to action to attend Town Meeting.